Enheduanna's Song from the Sands - by Ellen Rachlin (Paperback)

About the Book

A high priestess dethroned. A rebel with a dangerous plan. One empire hanging by a thread.

When Enheduanna is named High Priestess of Ur, her connection to the gods makes her a target. Lugalanne's coup strips her of robes, power, and home, casting her into the perilous underworld. There, amid forests of shadows and treacherous trials, she discovers that divine favor alone won't save her--only cunning, courage, and a willingness to embrace the ruthlessness of her enemies can restore her.

Drawing on history and myth, Enheduanna's Song From the Sands follows the world's first named author as she fights to reclaim her voice and her destiny. Political intrigue, betrayal, and divine tests collide as Enheduanna must decide whether to forgive, to fight, or to harness the power that could shake the foundations of an empire. For readers who love The Song of Achilles's intimate heroism, Circe's mythic depth, or The Daughters of Sparta's fierce women, this is a mesmerizing dive into ancient Mesopotamia where courage and cunning are the only paths to survival.

Book Synopsis

Discover the untold story of Enheduanna, the world's first named author, as she navigates power, betrayal, and divine destiny in ancient Mesopotamia. A mesmerizing fusion of history, myth, and female leadership that challenges how we see the past--and ourselves.

A high priestess dethroned. A rebel with a dangerous plan. One empire hanging by a thread.

When Enheduanna is named High Priestess of Ur, her connection to the gods makes her a target. Lugalanne's coup strips her of robes, power, and home, casting her into the perilous underworld. There, amid forests of shadows and treacherous trials, she discovers that divine favor alone won't save her--only cunning, courage, and a willingness to embrace the ruthlessness of her enemies can restore her.

Drawing on history and myth, Enheduanna's Song From the Sands follows the world's first named author as she fights to reclaim her voice and her destiny. Political intrigue, betrayal, and divine tests collide as Enheduanna must decide whether to forgive, to fight, or to harness the power that could shake the foundations of an empire. For readers who love The Song of Achilles's intimate heroism, Circe's mythic depth, or The Daughters of Sparta's fierce women, this is a mesmerizing dive into ancient Mesopotamia where courage and cunning are the only paths to survival.

Review Quotes

A high priestess of ancient Mesopotamia rises to power in a patriarchal society in Rachlin's historical novel. A historically accurate and well-drawn portrait of a fascinating female historical protagonist. --Kirkus Reviews

Legendary Akkadian priestess trailblazes with courage and ferocity.--Book Life

From the start, the first-person story builds an evocative, compelling scenario that draws readers with passion and insight. Filled with dramatic action and confrontations with self as well as the outside world, Enheduanna's Song from the Sands will appeal both to leisure readers and scholarly students of ancient times.--Midwest Book Review

"Enheduanna's hymns to the goddess Inanna are the first known literary works to name an author. Rachlin brings her to life in this novel set in 2300 BCE, a novel of sex, war, love, a baby in a basket, and a woman creating a new order of being. It's historical fiction writing that reminds the reader of Hilary Mantel, you can't put it down. You want to follow the priestess to bed, to rise, to her last fighting breath. Rachlin won't let you put this book down."--Kate Gale, author of Under a Neon Sun and Swimming the Milky Way

"In finely detailed prose, Ellen Rachlin brings Enheduanna, daughter of Sargon, to life, as well as the mythic figures of Inanna and Ereshkigal of the Underworld. Enheduanna's Song From the Sands is filled with conflict and intensity, each quest, not only a matter of achieving power, but of life and death."--Regina McBride, author of Stranger from Across the Sea

Ellen Rachlin's sumptuously detailed debut novel, Enheduanna's Song From the Sands, tells the remarkable true story of the ancient high priestess Enheduanna. Rachlin guides us through the intrigues, secrets, spies and wars of Enheduanna's times, bringing this gifted woman and the goddess she served to life. --Molly Peacock, Author of The Paper Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life's Work at 72

Enheduanna's Song From the Sands is a sweeping and gorgeous historical novel set in the Akkadian period with true, immersive detail. Rachlin's period construction shines through in the temple economies depicted with grain allocation and metal tracking, and ceremonial rituals linked to divine representation and royal legitimacy.--Readers' Favorite

About the Author

Ellen Rachlin is the author of five collections of poetry: At the Big Bang Resort (forthcoming from Red Hen Press), Permeable Divide, and Until Crazy Catches Me (Antrim House), as well as two chapbooks: Captive to Residue (Flarestack Publishing, UK) and Waiting for Here (Finishing Line Press). She is the winner of the IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award and has been a finalist for the Best Book Award and the New Women's Voices series. Rachlin currently serves as Treasurer of the Poetry Society of America.