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Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen (Hardcover)

~ India Edghill (Author) "My father Saul was not born to be a king..." (more)
Key Phrases: ebony gate, leather curtains, five smooth stones, King Saul, Queen Michal, Prince Absalom (more...)

3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Turning inside out the traditional view of David as a beloved king and gentle author of the Psalms, India Edghill's well-written debut novel Queenmaker paints a dark picture of the lauded biblical hero as seen through the eyes of his first wife, Michal. David's silver-tongued way with words captures Michal's heart, but her marriage to him is soon annulled by her half-mad father, King Saul. She's packed off to marry the widowed farmer Phaltiel, whom Michal soon learns to love. When David gains the throne of Israel and sends for Michal, she discovers that David has become a king who will stop at nothing to get what he wants. Through courage and wit, Michal must carve out a new life as the queen and wife of a man she now despises. Edghill isn't afraid to change biblical narrative to suit her story, and paints David as a selfish, grasping leader whose feet of clay are all too evident in this tale. Those who like their biblical narrative served straight up and their heroes untarnished may be disturbed by this reassessment; those who like a good story and a new spin on biblical champions, however, will enjoy this unvarnished look at one of Judaism's and Christianity's most lauded personalities. --Cindy Crosby

From Publishers Weekly

Biblical history is rewritten once again in this imaginative if overheated retelling of King David's life as seen though the eyes of his unhappy first wife. Michal, the daughter of Saul, is married to golden boy David when she is only 13, but even before the wedding her father grows wary of David's power and plots to murder his daughter's about-to-be husband. Michal helps David escape and for her efforts is disowned by her father and married off a second time to a farmer, Phaltiel. In time, she learns to love Phaltiel, and when David comes to claim her 10 years later, she must be dragged away and secretly vows vengeance. For 40 years, she is the first among all of his wives and concubines, and witnesses the intrigues, tragedies and triumphs of his celebrated reign. Through it all, she waits for her chance and seems to find it when David woos beautiful young Bathsheba, the wife of one of his warriors, and makes her pregnant. But Michal, childless herself, finds she loves Bathsheba too much to betray her and devotes herself to grooming Bathsheba's son, Solomon, for the throne of Israel. The fabled slayer of Goliath comes off as a conceited, bloodthirsty womanizer in Edghill's breathless tale, with Michal the power behind the throne, planning and plotting quietly with the sweet demeanor of a submissive wife as her mask. The novel provides a tantalizing glimpse into the past, but fails to deliver full-blooded characterizations or sufficient period flavor, substituting emotion for detail and jarring images for true style ("I laughed until tears dropped off my cheeks to make holes in the dust").

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Product Details

Hardcover: 384 pages
Publisher: St. Martin's Press (January 5, 2002)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312289189
ISBN-13: 978-0312289188
Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds

Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (80 customer reviews)

Amazon.com Sales Rank: #688,050 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Inside This Book (learn more)

First Sentence:
My father Saul was not born to be a king. Read the first page

Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
ebony gate, leather curtains, five smooth stones

Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
King Saul, Queen Michal, Prince Absalom, Prince Amnon, Prince Solomon, Princess Michal, King Ishbaal, Prince Adonijah, King Solomon, Princess Tamar, Uriah the Hittite, Yahweh's Law, Mount Gilboa, Has Yahweh, King Agag, Lady Zhurleen, Phaltiel of Gallim

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HarperCollins Study Bible by Wayne A. Meeks

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	61% buy the item featured on this page: Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen 3.8 out of 5 stars (80)
	12% buy Wisdom's Daughter: A Novel of Solomon and Sheba 4.5 out of 5 stars (13) $11.20
	10% buy The Gilded Chamber: A Novel of Queen Esther 3.7 out of 5 stars (35) $10.08
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Customer Reviews

80 Reviews

5 star:		(37)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(8)
1 star:		(7)

Average Customer Review

3.8 out of 5 stars (80 customer reviews)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Queen to remember., January 2, 2002

By	Denise Bentley "Kelsana" (The California Redwoods) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)

I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars. This author deserves high praise for this Biblical tale of King David's Queen Michal, daughter of King Saul. Starting from childhood Michal tells us of her love and obsession for David as it blossoms after his famous slaying of the giant Goliath. David has a silver tongue and a beguiling way that soon has the people enthralled with him.

Michal learns the hard way that men will have their way and power is the game they play. It is in David's court that she learns to manipulate, while using her wits and beauty to play a game that is just as intricate and winning.

This is a captivating story that will have you eager for more conspiracy and intrigue. This first book by India Edgehill will soon be followed by a sequel that will bring the reader into the court of King Solomon. ... 1/02/02

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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Best Impulse Buy Ever!, January 17, 2002

By	Busy Mom (Ohio) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)

I had never heard of this book till several of my friends recommended it to me. I wasn't going to buy it either till I got a second copy of another book, so I went to the bookstore and The Queenmaker was just in front of my eyes ~~ the best impulse buy I ever had done!

This book is about David's first wife, Michal, the daughter of Saul whom David bested and became the second king of Israel. Little is known about Michal in the contemporary world. However Edghill brings out all of her qualities and made her a living being full of blood and passion. And what a wonderful story she has woven among the verses of scriptures. Don't get me wrong, this is NOT a biography, it's a wonderful written novel of fiction ~~ of what might have been. And it's so fast-paced too ~~ I couldn't put the book down and hated to go to work! It seems to interfere with my reading time!

I highly recommend this book to anyone who likes to read about the women of the Bible. I found it fascinating and witty and fun ~~ Edghill makes history breathe again. I am anxiously awaiting her next book!

1-17-02

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15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Disappointingly inaccurate, June 10, 2004

By	DFD "Argentum Arts" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen (Paperback)

For those of you who may be tempted to believe that you are reading a historically accurate re-telling of the life of a much beloved biblical figure - beware! King David is reduced to a selfish, greedy villain in this travesty of unfounded outright lies and the little known Queen Michel is accredited with many of his good deeds (for instance: she is reported to have been the inspiration for Solomon's temple).
India Edgehill may have a flair for putting lovely lyrical sentences together but the context is offensive to those of us who love our Old Testament characters well. This book should not be compared to "The Red Tent" which treated its characters with the love and respect due them.
Some of the gross inaccuracies:
David and Bathsheba's first child died and was not saved by Michal. Solomon was Bathsheba's second child of their union. So much for David disgarding her after his "use" of her as India paints in the book. Aparently they enjoyed continued relations enough to have another child.
Abner never traded his alliances to serve David.
Amnon raped Tamar and refused to ask for her hand. Shame on you India - Tamar was a real person and you have defiled her all over again.
I could go on and on but space will not allow it.
My suggestion is that, in the future, this author weave her craft around her own invented fictional characters where she will do no harm to the memory of real people.

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Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars GREAT READ-BROUGHT THE BIBLE ALIVE
I LOVED THIS BOOK WOULD RECOMMEND ANYONE TO READ IT, IT MADE THE BIBLE STORY COME ALIVE, I HAD A HARD TIME PUTTING IT DOWN. Read more

Published 3 months ago by TIA

4.0 out of 5 stars King Davids Queen
Queen Michal loves David almost as much as she hates him.
At one time David did love her and her brother Jonathan but
the dream of glory got in the way. Read more

Published 5 months ago by Bette B. Prater

5.0 out of 5 stars Queenmaker: Excellent reading-between-the-lines reveals truth in biblical characters
India Edghill's story of King David's first wife, Michal, daughter of Saul, deftly releases the inherent tensions hidden in the conventional biblical accounts of this hero of the... Read more

Published 5 months ago by Mary Burns

4.0 out of 5 stars You won't put this down!
Queenmaker is an excellent read! I actually read the following book, Wisdom's Daughter, first and immediately purchased Queenmaker. Both books are extremely captivating. Read more

Published 9 months ago by J. Brewer

3.0 out of 5 stars Interesting doesn't necessarily mean good
Though I am a Christian, I am pretty liberal-minded when it comes to Biblical interpretation, as long as the interpretation thereof is respectful of Deity. Ms. Read more

Published 11 months ago by Katherine Laura Mayfield

1.0 out of 5 stars Could Have Been A Nice Book
The topic is interesting and has the potential for an exciting story. However, this author chose to completely ignore the primary text which contains the actual history of... Read more

Published 18 months ago by JCR

5.0 out of 5 stars Very good read
This book was a very good read for me, in fact I finished it in 2 days! It was so interesting that it was hard to put down. Read more

Published on August 13, 2007 by M. Cochran

5.0 out of 5 stars SHOULD HAVE BEEN CALLED "THE KINGMAKER"
With an abundance of historical and biblical fact, a bit of speculation and a dash of supposition, India Edghill has created an exciting and admirable character in Michal,... Read more

Published on July 17, 2007 by Bookworm

3.0 out of 5 stars Remeber, this is fiction
To read this for purely entertainment I loved it.
I wanted to keep reading and wanted to know what was next.
But I don't know much about the biblical facts. Read more

Published on November 10, 2006 by bookmark

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Compelling Page Turner---Different Take on Familiar Biblical Stories
*****
This book was another one of those page-turners that kept me up for most of 24 hours to read. Read more

Published on August 13, 2006 by O. Brown

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