Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen

by India Edghill

For over forty years, Michal lived and reigned in David's court. She was the beautiful and proud daughter of King Saul and the prize David would risk his kingdom to win. Behind the palace doors, beneath the burning sun of the desert, or fleeing from Absalom's warriors, Michal was at the center of court intrigues.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Biblical Fiction, Biblical, Christian Fiction, Book Club

376 pages, Paperback

First published December 1, 1999

About the author

A reference librarian by profession, India Edghill's interest in history is long-standing; her father was a major history buff whose favorite authors were Will & Ariel Durant. India inherited his love of research and history. Her favorite areas are the Ancient Near East, Victorian England, and India at any period. India lives in upstate New York, USA, with a comfort of spaniels, a lounge of cats, and a plethora of books.

Reviews

[Cassandra · Rating 2 out of 5]

My husband spotted this book on the library shelf and handed it to me. When I read the inside cover, I was really intrigued - a novel that shows King David's life from the perspective of Michal, his first wife. That should be interesting!

Well... I didn't like the narrating style. This tells the story of Michal and also of David's rise to power but it was narrated from the perspective of Michal's final days of life, as if she was looking back on her life. Therefore, there was a lot of "I thought I was being wise but I would come to find out later that I was still very naive." That really annoyed me.

There was very little outside of the Bible story. I was surprised that a 350 page novel didn't really make me feel as if I had learned anything new. I also didn't really feel like I was made aware of the setting of the story. Sure, most of it took place in a palace, but there was very little description that placed the story in a specific time period. It could have happened anywhere in the world at any point in time prior to 1900.

The worst part of the novel is it's Biblical inaccuracy. David is made out to be a conniving, manipulative, selfish, and cold hearted man who only wants to be approved of by man. There was no sense that David was ever listening to God or even considered where God was leading. This is odd, considering the Bible calls David "a man after God's own heart." Nathan (God's prophet after Samuel) was portrayed as weak, giving unfulfilled prophecy, and blind to what David was really like. Seriously?

I know my review is harsh, but the only thing that kept me from giving it a 1 star is that I wanted to see how it ended. I was hoping that Michal would learn that David was unselfish, listening to God, and that she had misunderstood him. Nope! In this story, David died a selfish cold man who didn't care about God.

If you care about novels portraying Biblical figures correctly, don't bother with this novel.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

Having studied the story of David very closely, I was delighted to see that India Edghill’s story deftly releases the inherent tensions hidden in the conventional biblical accounts of this hero of the Old Testament. No one could be that powerful and "heroic" without also being ruthless and self-centered! Not only are is the era (ca. 1000BCE) drawn in a palpable, realistic, sensual way, but also the behind-the-scenes motives and machinations which help explore and fill in the gaps between David the King and David the man - and everyone he affected, especially Michal and his other wives. From David’s first audacious victory over Goliath and the Philistines through war, intrigue, love, lust, betrayal, compromise and treachery, Michal is thrust into often untenable positions which test her character, her ingenuity, her faith and her loyalty. I really empathized and often identified with her difficulties, so found her very believable. Edghill writes with true sensibility for the biblical era (no jarring anachronisms of thought or description at all) and with a deep insight into the characters of men and women confronted with choices between love and revenge, power and influence, and even life and death. Queenmaker is an absorbing, thoughtful book, and I highly recommend it.

[Amy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Queenmaker, by India Edghill, was fabulous! I loved it. Every bit as good as its sequel I read a few years ago, Wisdom's Daughter, by the same author. I happen to love historical fiction, also the misrash-y type books that fill in the spaces of the women and stories of our biblical times. I had never heard of, or knew much about Queen Michal, but I loved her character and the twists and turns of the story. It was a delight, and the writing was terrific. I'll spoil the writing at the end, but not the outcome. (History has done that for us.) At the end, India Eghill and Queen Michal remind us, that in the constant contest between love and wisdom, love wins, but they both win, because to love is to be wise. Don't you love that? And its so true. Love is wisdom, directly from the heart. How's your heart these days? Helping you make wise choices, I hope, that feel true and authentic, and aligned with self-purpose.

Now starting "Away" by Amy Bloom. Happy Reading and Happy Summer - Amy

[Claudia Fabian · Rating 1 out of 5]

I started reading this on what would become a tragic day for our country. The days before were already hard to bear due to shootings, stabbings...and we're still waiting for our hostages to be released. This is all relative to my state of mind as I read this book shelved by so many as, "Christian Fiction."

My issues:

#1: There were NO Christians in this period. The biblical characters were from the Hebrew tribes of Judea and Israel.

#2: I don't know the author's religion, and it should be irrelevant; however, research would have shown her that the term "Yahweh" is not customarily used by Jews. The name YHVH is considered so sacred by Jewish tradition that it is deemed improper to pronounce it in a casual or everyday context. Secondly, Jews wouldn't quote from the "New" Testament.

#3 (probably should be #1) : We are living in a time where purple-hair women are screaming about make toxicity and society accepts Drag Queen reading hour at the local library. We're living in a time when murdering someone for his beliefs in Judeo-Christian values is cheered and accepted. This author found it necessary- found it acceptable - to sully the name and the legend of a beloved biblical hero. One can only come to the conclusion that the author aligns herself with radical, male-hating, feminists. I question her stance on Jews and Israel as well.

King David is known to be a flawed person. Our liturgy provides a nuanced understanding of the man. David is portrayed as a deeply flawed fogure, but it is exactly these flaws that provide us with valuable lessons about leadership, repentance, and the complexities of moral decision-making. Is it necessary to completely destroy his legend in order to raise up Michal? I'm all about female representation, in particular Jewish representation, in historical fiction. I'm all in if an author wants to give a biblical woman her voice- her day in the limelight, but I question this author's motives and point of view with this novel.

#4: There are numerous errors with punctuation and formatting. It made it that much more difficult to read.

I shelved this book as Jewish Historical Fiction because these biblical figures lived and dies as Jews. However, I wouldn't recommend this narrative to anyone remotely interested in a Jewish interpretation of the lives and times of King David and his troubled household.

[Mirta Trupp · Rating 1 out of 5]

How is this labeled, "Christian Fiction"?

Finished reading it. My jaw hurts from the grinding and gnashing....

This book was NOT FOR ME- not on any level.

[Sara the Librarian · Rating 2 out of 5]

Can we stop trying to re-write "The Red Tent" and just shoot for interesting female characters with brains and hearts who don't necessarily have to be "ahead of their time" to the point of absurdity or living in worlds populated solely by oppressive, barbaric, idiotic men who's only goal in life is to subjugate women under the guise of either beating the shit out of them or "taking care of them?" I KNOW Christianity is inherently misogynistic (I seriously just spent 10 minutes trying to spell that), sexist and generally terrible, I know. I know women have, throughout history, been put down, treated like crap and been denied their proper place in world history. I do know this. But I also have to believe, I just have to, that not every single man in the history of the universe who was ever in a position of power used that power entirely to make all the women around him miserable. It is so rare to find good, historical fiction that uses actual history properly or finds a way to blend honest humanity within a historical context. I'm totally ranting here but my point is ultimately that we have here yet another quasi historical/biblical female who must rise above the patriarchy for really no reason to essentially get revenge on the man who done her wrong all the while making shockingly revolutionary strides for women everywhere. The entire novel is about this woman trying to get revenge on King David of Israel and its incredibly boring reading. The other thing that bugs me is that at the end of the day she realizes that all she really needed the whole time was love. Which kind of throws that whole woman power thing right out the window...blech.

[Katie · Rating 2 out of 5]

Perhaps I should have seen the blurb on the front cover from People magazine, lauding the "vivid attention to historical detail" as a warning. At any rate, I was intrigued to read the story of King David from the perspective of his first wife. But this was a travesty in many ways. While there were places where I found the character of Michal to be sympathetic, she was largely annoying. And aside from the short segment (never even a full verse) of a verse from II Samuel that preceded each chapter (and was not always even used in context), there was no shred of Biblical accuracy. David is written as a blasphemous, lying, manipulative, vain, childish, thoroughly despicable person. Timelines are changed, a fictional writing tool I could accept. I can even deal with the fact that several names are changed (though some inexplicably). But aside from the absolute slander heaped on David, numerous facts are not only changed, but twisted in a mocking manner. Instead of David bringing Saul the foreskins of 100 Philistines as the bride-price for Michal, David returns with twice that many Philistine soldiers (who agree to be circumcised) to serve Saul. (These same soldiers are later used to David's advantage in "taking" his kingdom and building his palace.) Solomon is made to be the first -- and only -- child of David & Bathsheba, so instead of an infant who dies, Michal herself saves Solomon when he appears to be stillborn, thereby making the prophet Nathan look foolish when the judgment he pronounced fails to come true). The rape of Tamar by her half-brother Amnon is *completely* altered: Amnon is virtually a saint, he and Tamar are deeply in love and wish to marry, and Absalom murders Amnon out of jealousy and then kills Tamar, his full sister, to silence her. To further blacken David's name, the author makes David the crippler of his own nephew (son of his beloved late friend Jonathan). Instead of being crippled when he is dropped as a small child by his nurse, in this story he is being brought to live in David's palace as a much older child....only he arrives, not the healthy boy Michal has heard of, but no more than a crippled vegetable, broken and bruised beyond healing,and it is made clear that Michal *knows* this was done under David's orders -- presumably to prevent any threat to his throne. The author twists the verse where Michal sarcastically accuses David of "uncovering" himself before the people and turns it into David being completely naked, his skin slick and shiny with oil (or like oil?), a scene recalled again in the book, as if once weren't enough. (David wore a simple linen robe, like that of the priests, instead of his royal robes, when he danced before the Lord as the Ark of the Covenant was brought into the city.) David's desire to build a temple to glorify the Lord is morphed into Michael's conniving way of getting what she wants from David in the moment by convincing him that he will look good to the people and win gratitude from the priests for such a grand gesture. And even at the end of his life, the author makes a mockery of his final words. Apparently nothing about the historical figure of David, about whom much is written in the Bible, is sacred, so long as tarnishing it makes fodder to create a story for another character -- a character, while admittedly historical herself, about whom we have little knowledge and less documentation. (Speaking of documentation, there is no bibliography for this book....meaning no sources for the fantastical mess that has been spun.)

Not only is David a thoroughly unpleasant and unlikable person, but Michal comes off that way, too, much of the time. She is bitter, hateful, vengeful, deceptive...and while the manner is which David has been redesigned gives merit to much of her feeling, it still leaves a person I do not believe I would care to have known.

In the author's acknowledgments at the beginning, she states that part of the purpose of this book was "to give a voice to a biblical woman long condemned to silence." If this is the voice she imagines, she would have been better to leave us with the silence.

[Morgan Dhu · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed India Edghill's Queenmaker: A Novel of King David's Queen, the story of Michal, daughter of King Saul and wife of King David. Basing her interpretation on a few Biblical references, Edghill fleshes out the character of Michal (and the other women in David's life, including Bathsheba and Abishag) in a highly believable fashion.

Equally interesting is her portrayal of David, from the young shepherd, harper and hero beloved - and feared - by Saul, to the ruthless warrior who united Israel, defeated its enemies and secured the fortress city of Jerusalem as its capitol, to the corrupt leader who killed both allies and rivals to get what he wanted, to the grief-stricken father who saw his sons conspire against him and each other for his power and his crown.

Edghill has written several other historical novels featuring women mentioned in the Bible, and though normally this is not one of my favourite historical periods to read about, I'll be looking forward to reading them.

[Brie · Rating 4 out of 5]

In the spirit of The Red Tent, this novel tells the story of of a Biblical woman, Michal, the daughter of King Saul and the wife of King David. As women's roles in the Bible are often vague and overshadowed by men's, this attempts to tell some of the stories from the Old Testament how Michal must have experienced them. The author has some great historical research tied in and the story is engrossing. It is also a very harsh criticism of David, the man, and brings his legend under the shadow of humanity. This book humanizes Biblical characters, making it easier to relate with historical characters and, if you so wish, religious figures.

[Melissa · Rating 4 out of 5]

While it may not be completely accurate it certainly gets you thinking about your bible stories. I always enjoy reading historical fiction written by authors who have done their research.

[MasterSal · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars rounded up to 3 - because why not.

A pleasant enough read - this book tells the story of King David from his wife’s perspective. And as with all these “female centric” retelling there is a twist. In this, we have David take point as antagonis; which could have been interesting if the character did not come across as a silly wet noodle. No clue why this version was compelling or cunning or all the other things the book tried to tell me he was

In fact all the characters were kind of one-dimensional. The plot sticks pretty close to events in the Bible but the twist to these events became so predictable that I was mostly keeping a checklist. All in all - I didn’t much feeling from the book.

However, this is a pretty easy read and if I ignore it as a retelling it’s competent enough. It won’t stick with me as the writing did not have any stand out moments but it’s good enough. I was amused enough in the end to think this was better than fine. And I am rounding it up because it put me in a good mood by the end.

The ending wisdom of love being the purpose of life made songs play in my head. It was so cheesy it made me grin. Not sure that was the purpose but I’ll take it.

All you need is love … love is all you need. The beetles would be proud.

[Letitia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Initially I did not think I was going to enjoy this overly much, due to the stilted dialogue and distant writing style. But I actually did, although more credit has to go to the Biblical story, which is one of the more jaw-dropping epics in the canon. Seriously, this family makes Game of Thrones seem like a mild soap opera.

For whatever reason I have always been fascinated by the character of Michal, David's first wife. This novel imagines her story as her father's sanity collapses and her husband's honor is eclipsed by ego. She, the first queen of Israel, is mentioned only a few times in scripture but it's always eye-catching, and I love that the author clearly agreed with me that she needed a lot more pages.

I will not deny this could have been more, and could have been done better, but overall I found myself eagerly returning to it to see this well-known story through different eyes. Should be a very enjoyable read for those who love historical fiction about royals, or retelling of tales from other perspectives.

[Vlatko Kraljevski · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent bible story

[Beth Cato · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a work of biblical historical fiction, and I bought it solely because the cover blurb said it was on the same level as The Red Tent, one of my favorite books of recent years. Unfortunately, it's not anywhere near as good as that book.[return][return]The story is a first-person account of Michal, daughter of King Saul and first wife of David. At heart, it's a story about the power of men and how they abuse that power, and how even repressed women can earn power in their own right. This involves a lot of talking. A lot. Michal is entirely removed from ongoing wars and conflicts, being secluded in the palace; there isn't even much court intrigue except for one other wife who gets snippy on occasion. It ends up being David or Bathsheba talking to Michal while she spins in the garden. That's pretty much it. The material is very interesting, but there was no suspense or conflict. Michal bides her time, waiting to pwn King David the Jerk. I pushed myself through the last half of the book just because I wanted to get it over with before I got too bored.[return][return]That said, I have the sequel to this (found it at a thrift store months ago) and I'm still going to give it a shot. Maybe part of the problem is that Queenmaker feels like a first novel. Like the author has some great ideas but is still honing her craft. Therefore, I'll give her one more chance and hope it's a better book. Or maybe I'm just masochistic. [The sequel is awesome - much, much better than Queenmaker.]

[Mandi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Although I was delighted at the premise of this book, I find that I ended up quite disappointed. The thing that annoyed me the most about the book is the Biblical inaccuracies. Although the Bible provides many details about David's story, very little is known about Michal and their relationship. Additionally, little is known about Bathsheba. As such, it seems that the author would stick to the few facts provided and use her creativity to fill in the rest. Unfortunately, she seems to have thrown out what little facts we know and changed the past to benefit the narrative. I was also very put off by the characterization of David. While I realize we heard the story from Michal's point of view and her hatred of David caused us to see him through her angry and tormented point of view, I found myself annoyed by this portrait of David that so heavily contradicts the one in the Bible. David's sins and faults are well documented in the Bible, but he is also portrayed as someone who is remorseful and dedicated to his relationship with God. Also, due to some inaccuracies, Nathan is completely discredited as a prophet in the book, which drove me crazy as well. Even if all the inaccuracies were corrected, I still found Michal's fixation with revenge and hatred tiring. At first, it was understandable and you felt sorry for her, but after a while, it just made me weary.

[Heather Harshman · Rating 3 out of 5]

India Edghill paints a vivid picture of life and love during the reign of the Biblical King David. She draws the reader along on every step she takes, generally giving only enough description for you to "see" what is occurring.

She creates true characters that have flaws, admirable qualities, fears, frustrations, and desires. Ms. Edghill also artfully entices you from one chapter or section to another. She frequently ends with a sense of foreboding, keeping you wondering what will happen.

The three star rating was given because, although I don't believe the book was primarily intended for Christians based on the discussion questions in the back, there were many Biblical inaccuracies. Some of them included the following: having David not repent of his sin with Bathsheba when confronted by Nathan; having the "sin" child of David and Bathsheba live; having Amnon make love to Tamar rather than raping her; and having Absalom speak with David in court about killing Amnon rather than fleeing to his grandfather. These inaccuracies were frustrating to the point that they made me not want to finish the book. They also seemed disrespectful of the Bible.

[Anne Fine · Rating 4 out of 5]

Excellent characterization, excellent story, excellent historical accuracy. So why not a 5 star rating? I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It was refreshing hearing the familiar story through the perspective of David's first wife, Michal. However, I really disliked the author's depiction of King David as a one dimensional character. One of the Bible's most revered and beloved characters is turned into a completely wretched and unlikeable person. The reason David is so beloved is BECAUSE he is such a relatable character. We all can identify with his utterly selfish and at times foolish behavior. However, what is completely missing in this author's version of David is any humility or acknowledgement of God as the authority and Lord of David's life. The very thing that draws us to David is his ability and willingness to humbly come before God and repent when he "blows it". I really enjoyed getting to know the mysterious and (in the Bible)little mentioned Michal. I really wish I could give this novel 5 stars, but the ill treatment of David's character was too much of a disappointment for me.

[AlixJamie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Though this was an entertaining read and neatly filled in the missing blanks of Michal's life, I felt rather uncomfortable reading it because the author deviated so much from the events clearly laid out in Scripture. Somehow she managed to portray David as a vengeful jerk, and Absalom as a villian. Ammnon, who is clearly portrayed in the Bible as a villian, was given the role of a innocent, love sick boy. Michal herself took much credit for many things that David actually did. The biggest freedom Mrs. Edghill took was in the saving of Bathsheba's son. In her book she said that the son that God had said would die actually lived, and was Solomon. That is absolutely wrong. The Bible clearly states that that son DIED, it even goes into detail about how David reacted.
I would recommend this book only because it is VERY well written and for the information that she provides (granted it is probably not true, but helps you understand Michal a little better) about Michal's second marriage to Paltiel. I found that very interesting.

[Christine · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy novels based on Biblical characters whose stories are not really told in the Bible. This particular novel appealed to me because I've always found the biblical Michal intriguing. From that perspective I enjoyed this story; it's interesting to me to speculate on her thoughts and motivations.

However, I think the author took a bit too much liberty with the basic plot. I felt like this story really went off the rails with the complete omission of the birth and death of David and Bathsheba's first child. I assume the author omitted those events to support her assertion later in the story that Nathan's prophecies against David did not come to fruition, which still seemed nonsensical given that David's family was collapsing in on itself and his older children were murdering one another. I also found the author's portrayal of Bathsheba as being eternally innocent and child-like to be somewhat annoying and unbelievable, while her one-dimensional portrayal of David as a delusional egomaniac was a bit over the top.

Still, though, I thought it was an interesting read.

[Ashlee Willis · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite books from one of my favorite authors. India Edghill is an superb writer - she has a way with words that can send shivers of pleasure up my spine. I floated straight into "Queenmaker" and didn't come up for air until I was finished.

I grabbed this book initially to read because I had always felt a bit sorry for David's queen, Michal. I thought a book written from her POV would be intriguing. I was not disappointed. I cannot vouch for the book's absolute Biblical accuracy, but with any work of fiction, liberties on the facts must be taken, and Edghill has envisioned her character's situation, troubles, actions and emotions with both acute sensitivity and a natural flow.

It was the combination of her mesmerizing "voice" and style, and the fascinating story itself, that made this book go straight to my list of all-time favorites.

I don't think you'll regret reading it!

[Loraine · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was a lengthy Biblical fiction book, that focused on King David as seen through the eyes of his second wife and queen, Michal, daughter of King Saul. I found it very interesting, but definitely have to say it is quite revisionist in comparison to the Bible. The story of David is found in I and II Samuel. Yes David had his weaknesses and made his mistakes. But as envisioned through Michal's perspective in this book, Edghill pens him as a truly weak and despicable man. I think she misses out on the lessons that can be learned from David in that a person can make mistakes but still be trying their best to follow God's will. Political intrigue, adultery, scandals, palace politics as well as sibling rivalry all drive the story both Biblically and in this book, but I had to disagree with Edghill's conclusions.

[Joyce · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is an imaginative (and dare I say it?) realistic take on King David; quite honestly, I've never been able to read the Psalms or the portions relating to David the way I used to before reading this novel. I think this speaks to the way the author weaves Biblical accounts in and out of a deep understanding of the culture of the times and the relationships between men and women, fathers and children, kings and their subjects.

However, the hardback edition I read was in serious need of an editor: grammar and spelling errors abounded and took me out of the story again and again. This has affected my rating: for story, I'd give it 5 stars; for editing 2 stars; hence my 3 star rating.

[Kelli · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was only okay. The writing was okay. The character development was slightly better than okay. The storyline if taken as a novel was okay. The fact that it swerved away from the historical account in the Bible was not okay. I expect a novelist to take some liberties with character and plot line when the historical record is not stated. But changing the historical record? Not cool.

[Natasa · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author did not stay true to any of the Biblical story- save for the basic plot line. One can have a little flexibility with the thoughts and emotions of an individual. But the refusal to include known events makes this entire novel ring false and hollow.

[Melissa C. Water · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found the interpretation of the story interesting. Clearly to expand on what was said in the bible there had to be inventive additions which I thought was well done. I only gave it 3 stars because it wasn't that gripping.

[Martina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was expecting more from this book. Maybe because it was poor translation in macedonian, but in general didnt kept my attention, so there was a time that i almost forget that i was reading this book.

[Gaile · Rating 5 out of 5]

A novel of the relationship between Princess Michael and Kind David.
She feels he is keeping her a prisoner and will not allow her to have a life long after he has lost interest in her. Quite sad.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my all time favorites. It made the bible story come alive!

[Darlene · Rating 1 out of 5]

Based on Bible story but very immature writing. Wouldn't lok for the author again. The Red Tent was tons better.

[Asha Stark · Rating 2 out of 5]

Dear God I thought this would never end.

Summary: Self pitying idiot moons about a palace for 40 years, does nothing of note.