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  • Published: 13 June 2024
  • ISBN: 9781405962162
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

Babylonia





Animated by historical research and rich with detail, this captivating tale charts the controversial life and rise to power of Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian Empire

Nothing about Semiramis's upbringing could have foretold her legacy or the power she would come to wield. A female ruler, once an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire - certainly no one in Ancient Assyria would bend to her command willingly. This is the epic tale of a woman who knew if she wanted power, she would have to claim it. No one was coming to save her.

There are whispers of her fame in Mesopotamian myth: Semiramis was a queen, an ambitious warrior, a commander and builder whose reputation reaches the majestic proportions of Alexander the Great. Historical record, on the other hand, falls eerily quiet.

In her second novel, Costanza Casati brilliantly weaves myth and ancient history together to give Semiramis a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne no one promised her. The world Casati expertly builds is rich with dazzling detail and will transport her readers to the heat of the Assyrian Empire and a world long gone.

  • Published: 13 June 2024
  • ISBN: 9781405962162
  • Imprint: Penguin Audio
  • Format: Audio Download
  • RRP: $28.00
Categories:

About the author

Costanza Casati

Costanza Casati was born in Texas in 1995, grew up in a village in Northern Italy and lived in the UK for five years. Before moving to London, she attended a classical Liceo in Italy, where she studied Ancient Greek, and Ancient Greek literature, for five years.

Costanza is a graduate of the prestigious Warwick Writing MA programme where she earned a distinction, and currently works as a freelance journalist and screenwriter. Clytemnestra is her debut novel.

Also by Costanza Casati

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Praise for Babylonia

Costanza Casati has taken the fragments of stories about this extraordinary woman and recreated her world with a vivid panache

The Times

A wonderfully sweeping epic, Babylonia, not only recreates the ancient world with an extraordinarily tactile vividness, but gives us a portrait of a remarkable woman. Semiramis may be ruthless in her pursuit of power but her courage and passion, rendered in Casati’s supremely confident and fluent style, make her a compelling heroine for our times. I was utterly captivated.

Elizabeth Fremantle, author of Disobedient

Babylonia is an astounding achievement, one of the most vivid, powerful works of historical fiction I have ever read. Semiramis herself is an extraordinary creation - a woman whose rise makes for a thrilling, epic journey, while she also remains deeply human. I was utterly swept up in the world of this novel, in the passions and power struggles of its fascinating protagonists, all of whom completely captured my heart

Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den

A stirring, addictive and intoxicating tale with a deft weaving of myth and history. Emotionally rich and lyrically genius, Casati’s Babylonia has cemented her as one of the most skilled and exciting writers of historical fiction, bringing an incomparable vibrance to the genre

Bea Fitzgerald, author of Girl, Goddess, Queen

There is an entrancing quality to Costanza Casati’s writing that transports us to other worlds and past times, then holds us there – willingly enmeshed in story – until the final page is turned. Reading Babylonia is like reading an enchantment on the page, in which the unfathomable heroines of legend and history become living people, who suffer, bleed, dare, and love; and carve out their space in our hearts, and in our shared humanity

Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily

To read Babylonia is to witness something special. Incredibly richly drawn, sensuous in its imagery of clay pressed images and shadow, it's superbly done. Semiramis herself is a brilliant character - one you will care for very much

Conn Iggulden

Babylonia had me hooked from its very opening lines. Casati’s prose is arrestingly beautiful, breathing life into the stunning yet brutal world of the Assyrian empire. This is a tale of love, power, and survival, focusing on three central protagonists who are crafted with such depth and nuance, making this an utterly captivating read. Through Babylonia, Casati has proven, once again, why she is one of the most exciting new voices within the historical fiction genre.

Rosie Hewlett

Babylonia consumed me, and I devoured it. It is a searing tale of love and ambition set within the bloody wars of the ancient Assyrian. The depth and strength of this story of Semiramis is extraordinary; her resilience, her passion, and her power. Costanza Casati deals with generational trauma, inheritance and the brutal terrors of war through the eyes of love and ambition. Casati is a beautiful storyteller, and a writer of true brilliance. If you want a story that delves deeper into the past than you have been before, this is the one for you.

Hannah Kaner, bestselling author of Godkiller

The epic rise of the ambitious female protagonist is complemented by truly gorgeous writing, and the spying and scheming was reminiscent of the juiciest Game of Thrones scenes

Cosmopolitan

An epic historical fantasy. . . rich with palace intrigue and passion, including a tragic love triangle. A true escape

AARP

Mesmerizingly intricate. . . Captivating and historically insightful, Casati’s Babylonia is a resonant page turner

BookPage

Based on the ancient Middle Eastern legend of a warrior queen, Casati’s sweeping epic incorporates the era’s brutality but also its cultural richness

Washington Post
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