DELUXE EDITION WITH DESIGNED EDGES From the author of the bestselling Clytemnestra comes another intoxicating excursion into ancient history, painting the brutal and captivating empire of gods and men, and the one queen destined to rule them all. A common woman. The governor she married. The king who loved them both. Babylonia across the centuries has become the embodiment of lust, excess, and dissolute power that ruled Ancient Assyria. In this world you had to kill to be king. Or, in the case of Semiramis, an orphan raised on the outskirts of an empire: Queen. Nothing about Semiramis's upbringing could have foretold her legacy. But when she meets a young representative of the new Assyrian king, a prophecy unfolds before her, one that puts her in the center of a brutal world and in the hearts of two men - one who happens to be king. Now a risen lady in a court of vipers, Semiramis becomes caught in the politics and viciousness of ancient Assyria. Instead of bartering with fate, Semiramis trains in war and diplomacy. And with each move, she rises in rank, embroiled in a game of power, desire, love, and betrayal, until she can ascend to the only position that will ever keep her safe. In her second novel, Costanza Casati brilliantly weaves myth and ancient history together to give Semiramis, the only female ruler of the Assyrian Empire, a voice, charting her captivating ascent to a throne no one promised her. "A subtly persuasive portrait of an impoverished orphan whose cleverness and striking looks propel her from a wretched provincial settlement to the inner sanctum of the royal citadel….chillingly drawn." ― The New York Times "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." ― The Washington Post "Mesmerizingly intricate…Captivating and historically insightful...A resonant page turner." ― BookPage "Casati chronicles the ruthless rise of Assyrian queen Semiramis in this masterful saga...No matter how much cruelty Semiramis dispenses, Casati never loses sight of what drives her heroine to achieve a status where she need not obey anyone else. Admirers of Robert Graves’s Claudius novels will be riveted." ― Publishers Weekly, STARRED review "Casati renders the ancient world Semiramis inhabits in vivid detail, bringing in the perspective of a slave in her household, and together, the pair illustrates the influence even the most unlikely actors can have on history. Casati's compelling second outing portraying the Assyrian empire's only queen is another triumph." ― Booklist "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; they carve out their space in our hearts, and in our shared humanity." ― Annie Garthwaite, author of Cecily "A stirring, addictive and intoxicating tale with a deft weaving of myth and history. Emotionally rich and lyrically genius, Babylonia cements Costanza Casati as one of the most skilled and exciting writers of historical fiction, bringing an incomparable vibrance to the genre. An incredible novel." ― Bea Fitzgerald, bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen "To read Babylonia is to witness something special. Incredibly richly drawn, sensuous in its imagery of gold and animals, clay pressed images and shadow, it’s superbly done. Semiramis herself is a brilliant character―one you will care very much for." ― Conn Iggulden, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Emperor and Conqueror series "I was up late reading Babylonia last night―it’s a work of art. Even better than Clytemnestra. How does Costanza do this? Brava a thousand times―this is a masterpiece." ― Elodie Harper, international bestselling author of The Wolf Den Costanza Casati was born in Texas and grew up in a village in Northern Italy, where she studied Ancient Greek, and Ancient Greek literature, under one of the country’s most rigorous academic programmes. She is a graduate of the prestigious Warwick Writing MA in the UK, and has worked as a screenwriter and journalist. Her debut novel, Clytemnestra , has sold into 20 territories worldwide, was the winner of the Glass Bell Award, an Indie Next Pick and a nominee for Best Fantasy in the Goodreads Choice Awards. Babylonia , her second novel, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller.