Published in 2023
297 pages
Megan Barnard is a former literary agent and editor turned full-time writer. When she’s not writing, she drinks coffee, travels widely, and shuffles towering stacks of books around, so they don’t kill her or her husband. She lives in Maryland with her husband and her pup, Pippin.
What is this book about?
With a bold voice reminiscent of Madeline Miller’s Circe, a stunning reimagining of the story of a fierce princess from Tyre and her infamous legacy
Jezebel was born into the world howling. She intends to leave it the same way.
When Jezebel learns she can’t be a king like her father simply because she’s a girl, she vows never to become someone’s decorative wife, nameless and lost to history. At fifteen she’s married off, despite her protests, to Prince Ahab of Israel. There, she does what she must to gain power and remake the dry and distant kingdom in the image of her beloved, prosperous seaside homeland of Tyre, beginning by building temples to the gods she grew up worshipping. As her initiatives usher in an era of prosperity for Israel, her new subjects love her, and her name rings through the land.
Then Elijah, the prophet of Yahweh and her former lover, begins to speak out against her. Bitter at having been abandoned by Jezebel, he lashes out, calling her a slut. Harlot. Witch. And the people, revering their prophet’s message, turn on her.
As ancient powers and faiths are pitted against each other, bloodshed descends on Israel and Jezebel faces the fall of her legacy. Determined despite the odds to make Israel a great nation, she must decide how far she’s willing to go to protect her family, her throne—her name. A stunning revision of a notorious queen’s story, Jezebel is a thrilling lyrical debut about a fierce woman who refuses to be forgotten.
