''Belshazzar'' is a historical novel by H. Rider Haggard set in
Ancient Babylon
''Bābili(m)''
* sux, 𒆍𒀭𒊏𒆠
* arc, 𐡁𐡁𐡋 ''Bāḇel''
* syc, ܒܒܠ ''Bāḇel''
* grc-gre, Βαβυλών ''Babylṓn''
* he, בָּבֶל ''Bāvel''
* peo, 𐎲𐎠𐎲𐎡𐎽𐎢 ''Bābiru''
* elx, 𒀸𒁀𒉿𒇷 ''Babi ...
. It was written in 1924,
"Belshazzar" at isualhaggard.org and was just finished at the time of his death.
Publication history
The novel was published posthumously.
It was refused by Haggard's publisher Hutchinson's, and the first U.K. edition was published by
Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd., London, in September 1930.
It was reissued in 1931.
The first U.S. edition was published by Doubleday, Doran and Co., New York, the same year.
A trade paperback edition was issued by
Wildside Press
Wildside Press is an independent publishing company in Cabin John, Maryland, United States. It was founded in 1989 by John Betancourt and Kim Betancourt. While the press was originally conceived as a publisher of speculative fiction in both trade ...
in March 2001.
Plot
The Egyptian prince Ramose seeks to rescue his wife Myra from the King of Babylon.
The novel also features the Babylon king
Belshazzar
Belshazzar (Babylonian cuneiform: ''Bēl-šar-uṣur'', meaning " Bel, protect the king"; ''Bēlšaʾṣṣar'') was the son and crown prince of Nabonidus (556–539 BC), the last king of the Neo-Babylonian Empire. Through his mother he might ...
, and incorporates the
Biblical
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
episode of
Belshazzar's feast
Belshazzar's feast, or the story of the writing on the wall (chapter 5 in the Book of Daniel), tells how Belshazzar holds a great feast and drinks from the vessels that had been looted in the destruction of the Solomon's Temple, First Temple. A ...
into its plot.
Reception
''
The Sydney Morning Herald
''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...
'', reviewing the novel, stated that "Rider Haggard was not in his best vein when he wrote this". It added "The field is wide and the possibilities are tremendous when we are
taken to the great Babylonian city, and he is a little disappointing in the picture painting when the description of its magnificence is called for".
See also
*
Cultural depictions of Belshazzar
Belshazzar (6th century BC), son of the last king of the Neo-Babylonian empire, Nabonidus, has inspired many works of art and cultural allusions, often with a religious motif. While a historical figure, depictions and portrayals of him are most of ...
References
External links
Complete bookat Free Read
Novels by H. Rider Haggard
1930 British novels
Novels published posthumously
Babylon in fiction
Novels set in ancient Mesopotamia
Stanley Paul books
Cultural depictions of Belshazzar
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