The life of Herod the Great : a novel / Zora Neale Hurston ; edited and with commentary by Deborah G. Plant.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Hurston, Zora Neale, author.

Contributor:

Plant, Deborah G., 1956- editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Herod I, King of Judea, 73 B.C.-4 B.C--Fiction.

Herod.

Kings and rulers--Fiction.

Kings and rulers.

Genre:

Biographical fiction.

Historical fiction.

Religious fiction.

Novels.

Physical Description:

xxvii, 334 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : Amistad, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers, [2025]

Summary:

"In the 1950s, as a continuation of Moses, Man of the Mountain, Zora Neale Hurston penned a historical novel about one of the most infamous figures in the Bible, Herod the Great. In Hurston's retelling, Herod is not the wicked ruler of the New Testament who is charged with the "slaughter of the innocents," but a forerunner of Christ -- a beloved king who enriched Jewish culture and brought prosperity and peace to Judea. From the peaks of triumph to the depths of human misery, the historical Herod "appears to have been singled out and especially endowed to attract the lightning of fate," Hurston writes. An intimate of both Marc Antony and Julius Caesar, the Judean king lived during the first century BCE, in a time of war and imperial expansion that was rife with political assassinations and bribery, as the old world gave way to the new. Portraying Herod within this vivid and dynamic world of antiquity, little known to modern readers, Hurston's unfinished manuscript brings this complex, compelling, and misunderstood leader fully into focus. Hurston shared her findings about Herod's rise, his reign, and his waning days in letters to friends and associates. Text from three of these letters concludes the manuscript in an intimate way. Scholar-editor Deborah G. Plant's "Commentary: A Story Finally Told" assesses Hurston's pioneering work and underscores Hurston's perspective that the first century BCE has much to teach us and that the lens through which to view this dramatic and stirring era is the life and times of Herod the Great." -- Jacket flap.

Contents:

Editor's note

Preface

Introduction

Antipater and his sons

Herod, the Over-Bold

The accused

New moon over Judea

Herod at home

Voice from the past

General Herod

Test of the metal

The road to Rome

Home again

Herod at Jerusalem

King of Judea

Mariamne accused

Trial of Mariamne

Games, gold, generosity

Love again for Herod Magnus

Herod builds

Return of the two princes

Reunion in Iona

Epilogue: Back upon the grille

Commentary: A story finally told

A note from the cover artist.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references.

Other Format:

Online version: Hurston, Zora Neale. Life of Herod the Great

ISBN:

9780063161009

0063161001

OCLC:

1432782415