#hardcover #fiction #babel #darkacademia #rfkuang #sprayededges #waterstones #signed

Hardcover (1 to 2 lbs)

California

Or the Necessity of Violence: an Arcane History of the Oxford Translators' Revolution

'One for Philip Pullman fans'

THE TIMES

Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Oxford, 1836.

The city of dreaming spires.

It is the centre of all knowledge and progress in the world.

And at its centre is Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation. The tower from which all the power of the Empire flows.

Orphaned in Canton and brought to England by a mysterious guardian, Babel seemed like paradise to Robin Swift.

Until it became a prison...

But can a student stand against an empire?

An incendiary new novel from award-winning author R.F. Kuang about the power of language, the violence of colonialism, and the sacrifices of resistance.

'A masterpiece that resonates with power and knowledge. BABEL is a stark picture of the cruelty of empire, a distillation of dark academia, and a riveting blend of fantasy and historical fiction - a monumental achievement'

Samantha Shannon, author of THE PRIORY OF THE ORANGE TREE

Babel *Waterstones* *Signed*

69c6cf75-9793-49ab-b659-a60d4ac2a137-1

R. F. Kuang

#hardcover #fiction #rfkuang #babel #fantasy #historical #booktok #botm 

Heavy Hardcover (2 to 4 lbs)

Minnesota

From 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? 



Format - Hardcover

Condition - Like New

Listed - 10 months ago

Views - 1,812

Wishes - 108

Ships From - California

Est. Publication Date - Sep 2022

Seller Description

Publisher Description

ISBN: 9780008501815

Tags

Babel Waterstones Signed

By:

$100.00

Meet The Seller

Discover More

Babel

By: R. F. Kuang

More From This Seller

Recently Viewed