The Emperor's Babe is a verse novel written by British author Bernardine Evaristo. Published by Penguin in 2001,[1] it is Evaristo's second work of fiction. Based in London around 1800 years ago, it follows the story of black Nubian teenage girl, Zuleika, who comes of age in the Roman period. The Emperor's Babe won the Arts Council Writers Award in 2000, a NESTA[2] Fellowship Award in 2003 and was chosen by The Times as one of the 100 Best Books of the Decade in 2010.[3] In 2013, it was also adapted into a BBC Radio 4 play.[4]
 First edition (UK) | |
| Author | Bernardine Evaristo |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Hamish Hamilton/Penguin (UK), Penguin (USA) |
Publication date | January 2001 (UK), April 2002 (USA) |
| Publication place | United Kingdom |
| Media type | Book (Hardback/Paperback) |
| ISBN | 978-0140297812 |
| Followed by | Lara |
Reception
editReviews
editUpon release, The Emperor's Babe was generally well-received among the British press. The Daily Telegraph reported on reviews from several publications with a rating scale for the novel out of "Love It", "Pretty Good", "Ok", and "Rubbish": Daily Telegraph, Guardian, Sunday Times, and Independent On Sunday reviews under "Love It" and Times and TLS reviews under "Pretty Good" and Sunday Telegraph review under "Rubbish".[5]
The Bookseller described The Emperor's Babe as "something completely different: a fresh and original historical novel, narrated in verse". The Guardian also praised the form of the verse-novel and called it "adventurous, compelling and utterly original. You won’t read another book like it this year."[6]
Honours and awards
edit- 2013: The Times 100 Best Books of the Decade
- 2003: NESTA Fellowship Award for The Emperor's Babe
- 2000: The Arts Council of England Writers Award
- Sunday Times Pick of the Week and Book of the Year
- Telegraph Book of the Year
- Sunday Independent Book of the Year
- Ireland Sunday Independent Book of the Year
- Red Magazine Pick of the Paperbacks
- Times Best of Summer Books
Bibliography
edit- The Emperor's Babe (Hamish Hamilton/Penguin, 2001; Penguin USA, 2002, ISBN 978-0140297812)
References
edit- ^ Evaristo, Bernardine (25 April 2002). The Emperor's Babe. Penguin. ISBN 9780241989845. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "The Nesta Story". NESTA website. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "The 100 Best Books of the Decade". The Times. 14 November 2009. ISSN 0140-0460. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "BBC - Afternoon Drama: The Emperor's Babe - Media Centre". The BBC website. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
- ^ "Books of the moment: What the papers say". The Daily Telegraph. 21 July 2001. p. 54. Retrieved 19 July 2024.
- ^ Hunter, Jo (31 March 2002). "Books — Paperbacks". The Guardian. Retrieved 9 September 2019.