ONE OF STYLIST’S BEST NEW FEMINIST RETELLINGS TO READ IN 2023
In the Garden of Eden, at the beginning of time, an outrageous lie is born: that women are inferior.
Lilith and Adam are equal and happy in the Garden of Eden. But when Adam decides Lilith should submit to his will and lie beneath him, she refuses – and is banished forever from Paradise. Demonised and sidelined, Lilith watches in fury as God creates Eve, the woman who accepts her submission. But Lilith has a secret: she has already tasted the fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. Endowed with Wisdom, she knows why Asherah – God’s wife and equal, the Queen of Heaven – is missing. Lilith has a plan: she will rescue Eve, find Asherah, restore balance to the world and regain her rightful place in Paradise.
Lilith is the heroine women have waited six thousand years for.
"We've waited 6000 years to hear Lilith's tale, and what a tale it is! Feisty, furious, and startlingly funny, Marmery's heroine is never less than fascinating: Lilith's caustic views on Adam, on drunken oafish Noah, on the pompous angels are sharply witty and deliciously spiky. Every page seethes with Lilith's rage and heartache, and although there are many dark scenes, Marmery also creates a poignant sense of hope by the end. A truly compelling novel, with timeless sensual descriptions conjuring up vibrant images of Eden and Galilee. May it be the first of many feminist Biblical retellings!" Naomi Kelsey, author of The Burnings
“Lilith is a thrilling ride through her story: rocky, defiant and magnificent.” Chịkọdịlị Emelụmadụ, author of Dazzling
"Dynamite. I laughed loud, fumed louder. Nikki Marmery takes you upriver to the wellspring of sexism, but sends you floating back down on a little tide of hope. A shrewd, funny, passionate and important book." Meg Clothier, author of The Book of Eve
"LILITH is a battle cry of a book. A rich, vividly written story of passion, betrayal and female rage, Nikki Marmery conjures a searing yet hopeful tale about the power and necessity of women's knowledge, told through the fresh, fierce voice of the true 'first woman'. Lilith is a captivating heroine, full of wit, fury and strength, and I loved getting to know her." Sophie Keetch, author of Morgan Is My Name
"I think fans of Madeline Miller and Jenny Saint will love this evocative feminist retelling, which I found both deeply moving and fascinating from a historical perspective." Rosie Andrews, bestselling author of The Leviathan
“Lilith is a dark, enraging and enthralling story that reimagines a world free from the ancient clutches of patriarchy. This novel is illuminating, fascinating and important - a fierce and valuable addition to feminist myth-retellings that feels utterly original and much-needed.” Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
"A sumptuous feast and furious tornado of a novel. This reimagining of the Lilith myth is joyous, life affirming, funny and moving by turns, but is also a sustained cry of rage against patriarchal injustice. It is audacious...and breathtaking in scope." Maggie Brookes, author of Acts of Love and War
"An extraordinary, important book; a riveting and timeless story." Sara Sheridan, author of The Fair Botanists
"At long last we have the origin story women deserve. Furious and beautiful, rich and moving, Lilith is an astonishing achievement. A new heroine with an unforgettable tale to anger and heal." Miranda Malins, author of The Puritan Princess
"A wonderfully subversive novel, at once witty and furious, that reclaims female divinity in all its creative and powerful glory." Joanne Burn, author of The Hemlock Cure
"Perhaps the most powerful, audacious, hopeful novel I've ever read. Lilith's message is clear, and deeply moving: There is a better world, if we have the courage to believe it." Louise Morrish, author of Operation Moonlight
"We all know the story of Adam and Eve—but what about Lilith? Nikki Marmery's exquisite prose brings this compelling, highly relevant tale of Adam's first wife to life." Laura Shepperson, bestselling author of Phaedra
“In a poetic voice, at once ancient and modern, Nikki Marmery’s Lilith conjures a feminist counter-narrative, an ecological manifesto to forego domination, and love this world as a gift and each other as equals.” Kathleen B. Jones, author of Cities of Women