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.
Praise for Enheduanna's Song From The Sands:
"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
"JEnheduanna was such a powerful FMC in this book and woman in real life, I’m truly so grateful to have learned about her. Ellen Rachlin’s writing captures the powerful and divine moments of Enheduanna’s life and suspends them before you so you may be there right alongside..."
~ Morgan, ARC Reviewer
"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
Excerpt
Screams invade my dream, and at first, I can’t discern who’s in distress, but soon Uanna is at my side, trembling. The air is damp. She grabs my arms and pulls me upright. I can barely make her out in the dim lamplight. I grab my robe and follow her, rushing through the corridor towards the outer courtyard. Ilum-palil, Nidintu, and others join us.
With their backs to us, Udama stands with a group of security officers. He turns and rushes towards Unanna to hold her, and we all make our way toward where the men are huddled. There’s a body on the ground. Unanna reaches for my hand as everyone moves aside to let me pass.
“Darda!” I scream out. I fall to my knees to cradle his head. His sweet face is swollen, distorted almost beyond recognition. Blades have torn into his body, which now bears countless cuts. His pale skin is covered in dried blood. Someone took care to torture him. I collapse against him and bury my head in his stilled chest. My tears turn red in his blood. I remain there until Etana and Udama reach under my arms to pull me away. I kiss Darda’s cheek one last time.
How stupid I have been! Have I applied too much pressure and against the wrong people? For the benefit of my followers, I increased my accessibility and carried their personal pleas to the gods for support. We hold spectacular displays: the most recent festival was our finest yet. We awarded each citizen an extra allocation of grain and silver currency. Yet it wasn’t enough.
Darda paid with his life. For his sake, I wish he had been enslaved elsewhere, in a place where no doubt his brilliance would have been rewarded with freedom anyway. Here, because he was close to me, he paid with his life.
His death was an attack against me. Darda’s crime was being close to me. The forces that we’ve lost in the past months have only been during active battle. I need time to digest and assess anyone who might have participated in Darda’s assassination, but I can do none of this until after I grieve.
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Ellen Rachlin
Ellen Rachlin’s poetry has appeared in American Poetry Review, Comstock Review, Granta, Court Green, Literary Imagination, and various anthologies. She has published two collections of her poems, Until Crazy Catches Me (Antrim House, 2008) and Permeable Divide (Antrim House, 2017), winner of the 2018 IBPA Benjamin Franklin Silver Award.
She has a historical fiction novel, Enheduanna’s Song From the Sands, based on the life of Enheduanna, the Akkadian high priestess and world’s first-named author, forthcoming from Histria Books and a collection of poems, At the Big Bang Resort, forthcoming from Red Hen Press.
She is also the author of two chapbooks, Waiting for Here (Finishing Line Press, 2004), a finalist in the New Women's Voices series, and Captive to Residue (Flarestack Publishing, 2009). She received her MFA from Antioch University. She serves as Treasurer of The Poetry Society of America and is a partner at Blue Leaf Ventures.
Other writing genres include numerous textbook and journal articles on the subject of finance and investing with various publishers including Wiley.
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Thanks so much for hosting Ellen Rachlin today, sharing an intriguing excerpt from her captivating tale, Enheduanna's Song From The Sands. We appreciate your support.
ReplyDeleteTake care,
Cathie xx
The Coffee Pot Book Club
A wonderful and enticing premise for a book.
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