Avishag by Yael Lotan

Lotan’s meticulously researched novel wears its mantle of scholarship lightly as it breathes life into a fascinating period of the bible — the reigns of David and Solomon in Jerusalem, some three thousand years ago.

Of the scant female biblical characters, few are as intriguing as Avishag the Shunammite: a young girl brought from obscurity to the court of the aged King David, to warm the king's bed and stir his aged blood. Though ‘exceedingly fair’, she does not become the King’s concubine. Reticent and loyal to David, she becomes an unwitting magnet, drawing the attention of the kingdom’s most powerful men. As the sons of David—Adonijah the Judean and Solomon the Wise stake their claims, it is Avishag who will play the decisive role in the bloody rivalry for the succession.

YAEL LOTAN was born near Tel Aviv and has lived in Jamaica, England and the United States. She is the author of The Other I, Mangrove Town, Phaedra and a documentary, The Life and Death of Amos Orion. In addition to her writing, Lotan has been the editor of the cultural journal Ariel, a literary critic, translator and a journalist.

"Beautifully written and vividly drawn."
The Jewish Transcript