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.
Buy Link:
Universal Buy Link: https://books2read.com/u/472x5R
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.
Author Links:
Website: https://www.ellenrachlin.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/people/Ellen-Rachlin-author/61583923434907/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ellenrachlin/
Amazon Author Page: https://www.amazon.com/stores/Ellen-Rachlin/author/B002LFQWRM
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/8068457.Ellen_Rachlin
Praise for Enheduanna’s Song From The
Sands (optional):
"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.
What’s so singular about this heroine?
Daughter of a king, a spiritual leader and a poet, she signs her hymns
with her own name. In Enheduanna’s Song
From the Sands the first known author in western recorded history is a gutsy
woman! Thanks to Rachlin’s imagination
and rich research, I fell in love with Enheduanna and relished her anguished
and opulent story."
~ Molly Peacock, Author of The Paper
Garden: Mrs. Delany Begins Her Life’s Work at 72
"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
“I could not put this book down! As a history buff I
always love reading historical fiction and this book was so amazing. Reading Enheduanna’s
struggle and overcoming hardships as a high priestess were so inspiring and
intriguing to read about. If you loved books like The Song of Achilles than you
would love this book as well.”
– Elda Rastoder Net Galley Reviewer
“I'm OBSESSED. This is a rich and beautiful story of
stepping into power and making hard decisions, told with a wonderful, brilliant
voice perfect for its historical setting. The blend of intense drama, action,
and conflict/reflection with oneself and the world around was executed so well.
I really liked the addition of the footnotes and references because they tied
this fantasy story in with real history, that was a smart addition. I fell in
love with Enheduanna and the ancient high priestess' intricate story and I
simply could not put this book down. I'd recommend this book to anyone who
loves ancient history and feminist retellings of true stories.”
~ Seeta Net Galley Reviewer
“A historical fiction about an almost forgotten but
formidable high priestess in Ancient Mesopotamia. Enheduanna is the daughter of
the king Sargon, and has been destined to become high priestess since receiving
visions of a goddess from a young age. After a brutal SA on her journey, her
desire for power turns hungry from wanting revenge. She experiences isolation,
punishing rebels and mastering her intimidation. Learning that seeking divine
power is not the way, she begins to once more find alignment with values and
creation, which led her to become high priestess in the first place. Tracing
the course of Enheduanna’s rise to power, many important aspects of Mesopotamia
2300 BCE mythology and Enheduanna’s life are explored. Enheduanna 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 reader
“Enheduanna’s Song from the Sands is a historical
fantasy surrounding the life and actions of Enheduanna, the daughter of Sargon
the Great and High Priestess of Ur, a powerful religious and business leader
who lived approximately two-thousand years before Virgil. Ellen Rachlin
entwines her history with myth in a novel about the world’s first named author,
who finds herself the focal point of conflict, transformation, and choices
surrounding an extraordinary power rising in ancient Mesopotamia.
From the start, the first-person story builds an
evocative, compelling scenario that draws readers with passion and insight:
Inanna, supreme in Heaven and Earth, ruler over all
gods, I beg of you: restore me to my temple, bring me home! In the ancient city
of Ur, I no longer breathe the salty air, lift myself from the sacred bed or
unravel Ningal’s dreams for my followers. The southern stars have slipped away
from me; Now I walk the thorny brush of the northern mountainside. As I sing
your blessed song, I am dying.
A host of equally memorable characters enter Enheduanna’s
life and chambers, from Darda, the son of Purushanda’s former king, to her
mother and father, Sargon and Tashlultum, Uanna and Nidintu, women who are part
of a core circle Enheduanna thinks she can trust, and others from different
sides of an evolving rebellion.
Enheduanna tries to fulfill her destiny, but often winds
up feeling isolated and uncertain:
“...in this forest of knowledge, the faces of some of
my closest friends are becoming increasingly obscured.”
As Enheduanna faces riots, rebels, and intrigue, her
world comes to life with a host of social, political, and personal issues; all
of which she navigates with authority and, sometimes, uncertainty: “I fear
we’re losing real ground to our enemy.”
Suffused with rage, she then documents the history of her
world in vivid detail that readers will find engrossing and realistic.
Librarians and readers seeking a story of ancient history
come to life will find Enheduanna’s
Song from the Sands rich
with detail, personalized by the protagonist’s reflections as she steps into
her power and makes difficult choices.
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. The
former will appreciate the high drama and personal touches; the latter the
footnotes and references which cement events and fantasy in a layer of real
history.
An important footnote by the author clarifies why this
novel should be in any serious collection of women’s history, as well as in
fantasy and historical fiction holdings:
I stumbled across Enheduanna while researching Sargon
the Great. No one I knew, including poets, had ever heard of her or her hymns.
When I began to uncover what was more broadly known about Enheduanna, it astounded
me that the first-named author in history was not only a virtual unknown, but a
woman who lived in a male-dominated culture.”
~ Diane Donovan Midwest Review on recommended reading
list
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