Lilith

Marmery’s stellar sophomore novel (after On Wilder Seas) centers on Lilith, Adam’s first wife in the Garden of Eden. The story begins with Adam and Lilith living fruitfully in Eden under the watchful eyes of their gods: Yahweh, The Almighty, and Asherah, Giver of Life and Queen of Heaven. When Adam rapes Lilith, she runs from Eden to seek help from Asherah, in the process gaining her own wings and immortality but angering Yahweh. As Lilith soars over Earth, she uncovers Yahweh’s secrets: Eden is not the paradise she thought it was, and Lilith and Adam are not the only humans in existence. As Lilith’s eyes are gradually opened, she falls in love with Samael, the Angel of Death, and tries in vain to save Asherah from her violent fate in the Underworld. Marmery brilliantly recasts classic Bible stories, giving Lilith the goal of restoring women to a place of power and including her in such well-known events as Noah’s Ark and Queen Jezebel’s marriage to King Ahab. This feminist reimagining of the Bible will grip readers. Agent: Ella Kahn, DKW Literary. (Oct.)