Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba

I loved the prequel, Queenmaker, and I love this even more. The writing was rich, the characters multi-faceted, the story strong and complex. Any reader and lover of history longing for different version of "herstory" should read this. (Of course, one should always start with The Red Tent, if looking for stories of the Old Testament.) I loved it so much, I had to read it again!!

In Wisdom's Daughter, Edghill continues the saga of the women in the households of David and Solomon. Each of the wives and concubines emerge as memorable individuals. The author provides a strikingly original premise for the Queen's journey to the court of Solomon; my only criticism is that the ultimate outcome is predictable from an early point in the story, however, the lush descriptions of settings and the well developed characters more than make up for the lack of suspense. Some readers of her first novel (Queenmaker) objected to Edghill's depiction of King David; in this second novel, the primary characters are shown in a more sympathetic light. I was surprised to find how little is known about the real historical figure (the Queen of Sheba), and enchanted by the invented character in this book.

I did have a chance to see the galleys of this novel before publication last year and even give an opinion or two back to the author, and I thought then that this book looked to be very promising. Now, reading it in published form, I think "Wisdom's Daughter" is even better than India Edghill's previous book "Queenmaker"--the story of Queen Michal, Saul's daughter and David's consort. In "Wisdom's Daughter", Edghill recreates the court of King Solomon and of Bilqis, Queen of Sheba. The author poses an answer to the riddle of the reason behind the Queen's long journey from far-off Sheba to Israel. What were the questions she wished to have answered that were so perplexing? It is rare that a queen would travel for months away from her realm and offer riches beyond imagination for information! Some have speculated that, in the Bible "all she desired" was to have a child by Solomon. Edghill proposes a far more intricate answer. The writing is stylized though not overly florid, as befits the subject, and the imagery is rich and colorful. The stories of the other queens of Solomon are as interesting as Bilqis' own; a Sword Maiden from Troy, a sorceress who charms snakes to peer into the future, a breeder of tiny dogs, a Northerner whose blonde hair and pale skin is considered exotic and a princess of Cush (Nubia) who is "black but comely" as the Song of Songs states. Bilqis is joined by Baalit, the splendid daughter of Solomon. She is brilliant and wise enough to rule as a Queen, but in Israel, her brothers, who are by and large quite inferior to her, will succeed to the throne. Characters from "Queenmaker" also make a reappearance, so this novel is in a sense a continuation of the first book. Howver, it stands entirely on its own as a novel. Together, they are fascinating historical fiction, more in the mythical style than in the factual, and filled with romance and adventure. A fine, pleasurable read. Recommended for those who love historical or fantasy fiction.

With the deaths of her daughter and granddaughter, Queen Bilgis of Sheba needs a true female heir to one day replace her on the throne. She prays to the Goddess she worships, who tells her that she will find the sire of her heir in the Land of Israel. Thus Bilgis treks to Jerusalem seeking the designated one. In Jerusalem, King Solomon rules wisely over a land of milk and honey, but worries about who will replace him on the throne. The best candidate is his daughter Baalit, but females cannot rule Israel unlike Sheba. Bilgis and Solomon appreciate the wisdom they see in one another; Bilgis also sees astuteness in Baalit, who she feels should be named successor. As Solomon's wives battle behind curtains encouraged by the sanctimonious Prophet Alijah to influence the king to dump the pagan, Bilgis tries to persuade her lover that his teenage daughter should become the next ruler as she is the best suited of his children. This insightful and believable retelling of the classic Solomon-Sheba match up brings to life the era yet places a mesmerizing spin on Queen Bilgis quest in seeking the King of the Jews. The comparison between the equal rights Sheba with its matriarchal primogeniture vs. the patriarchal Israel is an interesting perspective (perhaps too modernized for that era) while the court intrigue of Solomon's wives provides a glimpse of the personal agendas and thus the times. The most interesting gyration is that Alijah comes across as a holier-than-thou preacher warning the King about his tryst with the pagan and coaxing his wives to stir trouble. As with the QUEENMAKER, India Edghill puts a female twist to heroes of the bible. Harriet Klausner