Spotlight on
The Anointed
By Michael Arditti
Published 20th May by Arcadia.
On the final day of the the blog tour for the new book from the prize winning author Michael Arditti, I am pleased to bring you a spotlight on this detailed retelling of the biblical story of King David, capturing the essence of Ancient Israel and the compelling display of male ruthlessness and female resistance.
From the cover of the book:
Michal is a princess, Abigail a wealthy widow, and Bathsheba a soldier’s bride, but as women in Ancient Israel their destiny is the same: to obey their fathers, serve their husbands and raise their children.Marriage to King David seems to offer them an escape, but behind the trappings of power they discover a deeply conflicted man. The legendary hero who slew Goliath, founded Jerusalem and saved Israel is also a vicious despot who murders his rivals, massacres his captives and menaces his harem.
Michael Arditti’s masterly new novel centres on three fascinating, formidable women, whose voices have hitherto been silenced. As they tell of love and betrayal, rape and revenge, motherhood and childlessness, they not only present the time-honoured story in a compelling new light but expose a conflict between male ruthlessness and female resistance, which remains strikingly pertinent today.
Praise for The Anointed:
A wonderfully rich novel. Arditti brings Ancient Israel to life. --Allan Massie, The Scotsman
[A] fierce, sinewy novel It is not the new beginning but the preceding dynastic carnage that's gripping - the blood-strewn road to spirituality and wisdom, through murder, sensuality and betrayal, as described by three women, wives of King David, who travel it in exhilaration and terror. --Howard Jacobson
Beautiful, bold and imaginative --Massimo Gava, Dante Magazine
It is with great joy that the reader will fall upon Michael Arditti's latest novel --Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith, Catholic Herald
In bringing the neglected figures of Michal, Abigail and Bathsheba to powerful life, Michael Arditti also paints a lethally honest portrait of an Old Testament hero. It is a novel that makes one think again and is absolutely fascinating. --Elizabeth Buchan, author of The Museum of Broken Promises
Arditti has an unusual voice and perspective that deserve a larger audience. ... Rich in history, The Anointed highlights the lost role of women in the foundation stories of the great faiths, and suggests the hidden homoeroticism (between David and Michal's big brother Jonathan, described in the Old Testament as 'becoming one in spirit') lurking in otherwise emotionally inexplicable passages in our holy books. Most of all, Arditti asks profound questions about those who feel themselves called to lead - whether they be great kings, godlike figures or today's statesmen and women. What is the human cost incurred when their self-belief slides into self-delusion - for them and for those around them? --Peter Stanford, Spectator
The Anointed is available to buy now from your favourite book retailer. Thank you to Amber Choudhary of Midas Public Relations for sending me a copy of this book and for inviting me to be part of this blog tour.
About the author:
Michael Arditti is the prize-winning author of ten works of fiction and one collection of short stories, including The Celibate, Of Men and Angels, The Breath of Night, The Enemy of the Good and Easter, the latter of which won the first Waterstone’s Mardi Gras award. Born in Cheshire, Michael read English at Jesus College, Cambridge, writing for the student newspaper and directing plays such as The Taming of the Shrew.
Post-university, Michael embarked on a career in arts journalism, working for five years at the Evening Standard, and then writing theatre criticism for The Times, Sunday Times, Daily Mail and Sunday Express. Four of his plays have broadcast on BBC Radio 4: Something To Scare Off The Birds, The Morning Room, The Chatelaine and The Family Hotel. Michael was awarded the Honorary DLitt by the University of Chester in March 2013 and was appointed a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London, in February 2018.
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