Jerusalem’s Queen by Angela Hunt
Book Description
Born in the small village of Modein, a town made famous by the warrior Maccabees, Salome Alexandra knows better than to harbor grand dreams for her future. She pales in comparison to her beautiful older sister, and though she learns to read at an early age, girls are not valued for their intellectual ability. But when her father and sister are killed, John Hyrcanus, a distant relative, invites Salome and her mother to live with his family in Jerusalem, where her thirst for knowledge is noticed and indulged.
When her guardian betroths her to a pagan prince, she questions HaShem’s plan. When Hyrcanus finally marries her to a boy half her age, she questions her guardian’s sanity. But though Salome spends much of her life as a pawn ordered about by powerful men, she learns that a woman committed to HaShem can change the world.
My Review
– 1/2 Smiles
For biblical fiction and history lovers.
I love biblical fiction, and I’m fascinated by Jewish history. That’s why I really liked this book. If those two things don’t float your boat—you may not enjoy this book as much as others by Angela Hunt. Her writing is always stellar and her research faultless, but this book is thick with detailed history of the Maccabees and Ptolemies, the lineage of high priests, and the evolution of the high priesthood and the Essenes. I highly recommend it for anyone planning a trip to the Holy Land or anyone who has ever visited Israel. It gives FANTASTIC insight into why Jewish oral Law is held in as high esteem as the written Law of Moses.
The two female protagonists narrate the story in first-person. This adds the interesting and sometimes opposing perspectives of a queen and her slave. Their relationship is well done. Believable. Just enough familiarity when they were children with the appropriate tension vs. respect as they grew into their roles as adults. Overall, it was a beautifully told piece of Jewish history with an occasional overload of detail. It was the first book I’ve read in this series, but I’m interested enough that I’ll try to go back and read the others.
