Recommendations based on "Star of Babylon"

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Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War“Absolutely phenomenal. One of the most brilliant, razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just an alternative fantastical history, but an interrogative one; one that grabs colonial history and the Industrial Revolution, turns it over, and shakes it out.” -- Shannon Chakraborty, bestselling author of The City of BrassFrom award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire.Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.1828. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation—also known as Babel.Babel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Silver working—the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars—has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.For Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with China over silver and opium, Robin must decide…Can powerful institutions be changed from within, or does revolution always require violence?

** FROM THE WORLDWIDE BESTSELLING AUTHOR OF RESTLESS AND ANY HUMAN HEART ** 'William Boyd once again brings to the spy novel his particular storytelling genius. The result is brilliant fun' MICK HERRON ------ An accidental spy. A web of betrayals. A mystery that will take you around the world . . . Gabriel Dax is a young man haunted by the memories of a tragedy: every night, when sleep finally comes, he dreams about his childhood home in flames. His days are spent on the move as an acclaimed travel writer, capturing changing landscapes in the grip of the Cold War. When he's offered the chance to interview a political figure, his ambition leads him unwittingly into the shadows of espionage. As Gabriel's reluctant initiation takes hold, he is drawn deeper into duplicity. Falling under the spell of Faith Green, an enigmatic and ruthless MI6 handler, he becomes 'her spy', unable to resist her demands. But amid the peril, paranoia and passion consuming Gabriel's new covert life, it will be the revelations closer to home that change the rest of his story . . . ------ In his most exhilarating novel yet, William Boyd transports you from the vibrant streets of sixties London to the sun-soaked cobbles of Cadiz and the frosty squares of Warsaw in this thrilling adventure. 'Engaging, intelligent and deeply satisfying. I rate him one of our greatest living novelists' PETER JAMES 'Wonderfully ambiguous with notions of twisted reality and uncertain memory' ANN CLEEVES 'A wonderfully intricate novel of espionage and elegant skulduggery' JOHN BANVILLE 'I enjoyed it hugely. Boyd is one of my favourite authors - he never disappoints' KATE ATKINSON 'Beautifully crafted and pleasingly unpredictable, the work of a man who knows what he is doing and makes it look effortless' JAMES RUNCIE 'Simply the best realistic storyteller of his generation' SEBASTIAN FAULKS 'There are few reading pleasures as great as giving in to a William Boyd novel' SUNDAY TIMES 'For page-turning glamour, you can bank on a William Boyd novel to hit the spot' GUARDIAN 'One of our best contemporary storytellers' SPECTATOR 'A gripping, must-read spy thriller. Boyd pulls out all the stops here for a gripping and galloping tale of murky espionage' i William Boyd, The Bookseller bestseller, April 2023

From the internationally bestselling author of Kane and Abel and A Prisoner of Birth comes Only Time Will Tell, the first in an ambitious new series that tells the story of one family across generations, across oceans, from heartbreak to triumph.The epic tale of Harry Clifton's life begins in 1920, with the words "I was told that my father was killed in the war." A dock worker in Bristol, Harry never knew his father, but he learns about life on the docks from his uncle, who expects Harry to join him at the shipyard once he's left school. But then an unexpected gift wins him a scholarship to an exclusive boys' school, and his life will never be the same again.As he enters into adulthood, Harry finally learns how his father really died, but the awful truth only leads him to question, was he even his father? Is he the son of Arthur Clifton, a stevedore who spent his whole life on the docks, or the firstborn son of a scion of West Country society, whose family owns a shipping line?This introductory novel in Archer's ambitious series The Clifton Chronicles includes a cast of colorful characters and takes us from the ravages of the Great War to the outbreak of the Second World War, when Harry must decide whether to take up a place at Oxford or join the navy and go to war with Hitler's Germany. From the docks of working-class England to the bustling streets of 1940 New York City, Only Time Will Tell takes readers on a journey through to future volumes, which will bring to life one hundred years of recent history to reveal a family story that neither the reader nor Harry Clifton himself could ever have imagined.

The sweeping new novel from the bestselling author of LADY OF HAY switches between Roman Britain and the present day where history dramatically impacts on the lives of three women.The Romans are landing in Britannia…Cartimandua, the young woman destined to rule the great Brigantes tribe, watches the invaders come ever closer. Her life has always been a maelstrom of love, conflict and revenge, but it only becomes more turbulent and complicated with power. Her political skills are threatened by her personal choices, and Cartimandua finds she has made formidable enemies on all sides as she faces a decision which will change the futures of all around her.In the present day, historian Viv Lloyd Rees has immersed herself in the legends surrounding the Celtic queen. Viv struggles to hide her visions of Cartimandua and her conviction that they are real. But her obsession becomes more persistent when she finds an ancient brooch that carries a curse. Bitter rivalries and overwhelming passions are reawakened as past envelops present and Viv finds herself in the greatest danger of her life.Readers LOVE Barbara Erskine:‘Atmospheric’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Enthralling’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Spellbinding’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Another fabulous read from the mistress of the genre’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Immensely and deeply immersive fiction’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘I loved every minute’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘An exceptional writer of great books’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘You can rely on this author to keep you wanting more’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘A joy to read’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐‘Captivating and engrossing’ ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

The electrifying behind-the-scenes account of a year that brought Ireland to the brink and back.In 2020 Ireland was launched into a state of turmoil, with the Government scrambling to handle the arrival of a virus that would see the already strained healthcare system buckle under the weight of the responsibility foisted upon it. The National Public Health Emergency Team was sent into overdrive, while thousands became unemployed as businesses around the country closed their doors.Woven from a wealth of original research and dozens of interviews with ministers, politicians, public health experts, essential workers, and ordinary people on whom the crisis exacted a personal toll, this is the incendiary untold story of Ireland’s response to the most significant public health emergency of the past century.Ranging from the halls of Government Buildings, where a new Cabinet riven by personal acrimony found itself beset by a series of unprecedented crises, to the frontlines of the containment effort itself, where medical practitioners and the communities they serve were pushed to breaking point, A State of Emergency is a landmark work of investigative journalism and the defining account of an extraordinary time in Irish history.

John Boyne has been heralded as “one of the most imaginative and adventurous of the young Irish novelists working today” by the Irish Independent. He achieved bestseller status and won numerous awards worldwide for The Boy in the Striped Pajamas. Now in Next of Kin, he steps into the drawing rooms and private clubs of the prewar English aristocracy to offer an unobstructed view of a social elite driven by the conflicting desires to uphold tradition and to acquire vast wealth.It is 1936, and London is abuzz with gossip about the affair between Edward VIII and Mrs. Simpson. But the king is not the only member of the aristocracy with a hard decision to make. Owen Montignac, the handsome and charismatic scion of a wealthy family, is anxiously awaiting the reading of his late uncle’s will, for Owen has run up huge gambling debts and casino boss Nicholas Delfy has given him a choice: Find 50,000 pounds by Christmas or find yourself six feet under. So when Owen discovers that he has been cut out of the will in favor of his cousin Stella, he finds that even a royal crisis can provide the means for profit, and for murder.Next of Kin vividly captures the spirit of 1930s London, revealing the secrets of the upperclass, complete with gambling, murder, an art heist, and a conspiracy to unseat the new king that could change the future of the country.

Henry VIII has ordered the dissolution of the monasteries and England is full of informers. At the monastery of Scarnsea, events have spiralled out of control with the murder of Commissioner Robin Singleton. Matthew Shardlake, a lawyer, and his assistant are sent to investigate.

The year is 1799, the place Dejima in Nagasaki Harbor, the “high-walled, fan-shaped artificial island” that is the Japanese Empire’s single port and sole window onto the world, designed to keep the West at bay; the farthest outpost of the war-ravaged Dutch East Indies Company; and a de facto prison for the dozen foreigners permitted to live and work there. To this place of devious merchants, deceitful interpreters, costly courtesans, earthquakes, and typhoons comes Jacob de Zoet, a devout and resourceful young clerk who has five years in the East to earn a fortune of sufficient size to win the hand of his wealthy fiancée back in Holland.But Jacob’s original intentions are eclipsed after a chance encounter with Orito Aibagawa, the disfigured daughter of a samurai doctor and midwife to the city’s powerful magistrate. The borders between propriety, profit, and pleasure blur until Jacob finds his vision clouded, one rash promise made and then fatefully broken. The consequences will extend beyond Jacob’s worst imaginings. As one cynical colleague asks, “Who ain’t a gambler in the glorious Orient, with his very life?”A magnificent mix of luminous writing, prodigious research, and heedless imagination, The Thousand Autumns of Jacob de Zoet is the most impressive achievement of its eminent author.

Abridged, 12 CDs, 14 hoursRead by TBAKen Follett's World Without End was a global phenomenon, a work of grand historical sweep beloved by millions of readers and acclaimed by critics. Fall of Giants is his magnificent new historical epic.