Instant #1 New York Times Bestseller from the author of The Poppy War ?Absolutely phenomenal.
One of the most brilliant razor-sharp books I've had the pleasure of reading that isn't just
an alternative fantastical history but an interrogative one one that grabs colonial history
and the Industrial Revolution turns it over and shakes it out.? -- Shannon Chakraborty
bestselling author of The City of Brass From award-winning author R. F. Kuang comes Babel a
thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell
that grapples with student revolutions colonial resistance and the use of language and
translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Traduttore traditore : An act of
translation is always an act of betrayal. 1828. Robin Swift orphaned by cholera in Canton is
brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. There he trains for years in Latin
Ancient Greek and Chinese all in preparation for the day he'll enroll in Oxford University's
prestigious Royal Institute of Translation?also known as Babel. Babel is the world's center for
translation and more importantly magic. Silver working?the art of manifesting the meaning
lost in translation using enchanted silver bars?has made the British unparalleled in power as
its knowledge serves the Empire's quest for colonization. For Robin Oxford is a utopia
dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. But knowledge obeys power and as a Chinese boy raised
in Britain Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. As his studies
progress Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society an
organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. When Britain pursues an unjust war with
China over silver and opium Robin must decide... Can powerful institutions be changed from
within or does revolution always require violence?
