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THE EMPEROR’S BABE
‘A daring experiment in verse fiction which came off triumphantly its lurid scenarios pulsated with a hybrid vigour’ Independent
‘Readable, sexy, delicious . . . I loved this book’ Helen Dunmore
‘Exhilarating . . . wildly entertaining then deeply affecting’ Ali Smith
‘One of Britain’s most innovative authors Bernardine Evaristo always dares to be different’ New Nation
‘Evaristo remains an undeniably bold and energetic writer, whose world view is anything but one-dimensional’ Sunday Times
‘Audacious genre-bending, in-yer-face wit and masterly retellings of underwritten corners of history are the hallmarks of Evaristo’s work’ New Statesman
‘Evaristo is a gifted portraitist, and you marvel at both the people she conjures and the unexpected way she reveals them to you’ New Republic
‘Bernardine Evaristo is one of those writers who should be read by everyone, everywhere. Her tales marry down-to-earth characters with engrossing storylines about identity and the UK of today’ Elif Shafak
‘Bernardine Evaristo can take any story from any time and turn it into something vibrating with life’ Ali Smith
‘Sexy, clever and ingenious: a verse romp set in Roman Londinium. Why must fiction always be in prose?’ Independent
‘Exotic, erotic and incredibly entertaining, this is, amazingly, a verse novel you can’t put down’ Observer
‘Evaristo’s strikingly original The Emperor’s Babe makes you feel that you are reading something that has never before been attempted, a sensation to savour. Written in fresh, zingy, witty language that combines tags of Latin, historically authentic references and twenty-first-century teen slang, it is a fast, exciting read whose occasional bittersweet notes build until it turns like a ballad from comedy to tragedy . . . The Emperor’s Babe is a modern work of art that uses the literary tradition with such light assurance that everything seems new. Brushing off the dust of 1,800 years like a cobweb, Evaristo’s golden lads and girls dance in the sun before us, glistening, frail and real. Vivat Zuleika’ Sunday Times
‘The Emperor’s Babe is unexpectedly sassy, funny, engaging and very sexy. Honest to God, you’ll love it’ Sunday Independent (Ireland), Books of the Year
‘If there is any justice in the world, The Emperor’s Babe will be a huge hit. Fictions like Evaristo’s, overflowing with energy and originality, are as rare as the sautéed peacock brains she has her heroine consume Evaristo’s triumph is to transmute politics and history into a glittering fiction whose words leap off the page into life . . . brilliant’ The Times
‘Evaristo’s skill lies in taking standard metaphorical models and twisting them in the most unusual, original, inventive ways. The Emperor’s Babe is exactly what the title suggests: the adventures of a sassy, sexy girl about town . . . It’s also funny, engaging and a daring evocation of the possible genesis of black British history. By puncturing the imperial pomp of Latin vocabulary with the cut and thrust of modern street talk, Evaristo demystifies much of the gilded decorum Rome evokes . . . The punchy poetry is perfect for the rhythm of the emperor’s babe, the epitome of all that is fast, fresh, funky’ Independent on Sunday, Books of the Year
‘Evaristo’s delicious The Emperor’s Babe is, as they say, something completely different: a fresh and original historical novel, narrated in verse’ Bookseller
‘It is a highly enjoyable romp’ Guardian
‘Evaristo uses her second verse novel to set about the Roman Empire with a gleeful disregard for decorum . . . the ancient Romans haven’t suffered such irreverence since Carry on Cleo It has great charm and vitality’ Daily Telegraph, Books of the Year
‘This is a belter of a book. Told at breakneck speed by an incredible talent. This novel deserves to win every award going. Bound to be a bestseller and a classic’ New London Independent
‘Wildly imaginative’ Red Magazine, Pick of the Month
‘The Emperor’s Babe is an undoubted triumph . . . it is a beautifully crafted work’ Wasafiri Literary Magazine
‘Evaristo rewrites history in her extraordinary tale of Roman London . . . The Emperor’s Babe breaks all the rules. A world where ancient and contemporary zeitgeists converge, it offers a whole new take on the concept of the London novel an hilarious, streetwise tragicomedy’ The Voice
‘Evaristo is youthful and daring, with hidden depths of wisdom and hilarity, and she has delivered an entirely new concept for the historical novel, as well as the London novel’ Independent
‘There are few books more quirky and original than Bernardine Evaristo’s new offering The Emperor’s Babe. Evaristo has managed to capture, with contemporary clarity, humour and a host of quirky characters, what London might have been like 2,000 years ago’ New Nation
‘Irreverent, fun, and amusingly anachronistic . . . The gladiatorial scene is not to be missed . . . Consistently amusing, clever and inventive’ Library Journal USA
‘Smart, imaginative and readable a rich farrago of historical fact and outrageous fancy’ The New York Times
‘A vividly imagined albeit distinctly modern look at a woman’s role in Roman times by a talented writer with a fertile mind and playful spirit’ Publishers Weekly
about the author
Bernardine Evaristo is the Anglo-Nigerian award-winning author of several books of fiction and verse fiction that explore aspects of the African diaspora: past, present, real, imagined. Her novel Girl, Woman, Other won the Booker Prize in 2019. Her writing also spans short fiction, reviews, essays, drama and writing for BBC radio. She is Professor of Creative Writing at Brunel University, London, and Vice Chair of the Royal Society of Literature. She was made an MBE in 2009. As a literary activist for inclusion Bernardine has founded a number of successful initiatives, including Spread the Word writer development agency (1995–ongoing), the Complete Works mentoring scheme for poets of colour (2007–2017) and the Brunel International African Poetry Prize (2012–ongoing).
www.bevaristo.com
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First published by Hamish Hamilton 2001
Published in Penguin Books 2002 Reissued in this edition 2017 Reissued 2020 001
Copyright © Bernardine Evaristo, 2001
The moral right of the author has been asserted
Printed and bound in Great Britain by Clays Ltd, Elcograf S.p.A.
A CIP catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library
isbn : 978–0–140–29781–2 ww w.greenpenguin.co.uk
Penguin Random Hous e is committed to a sustainable future for our business, our readers and our planet book is made from Forest Stewardship Council® certified paper.