The Poison Palace
On sale
12th January 2027
Price: £20
Eka is a vishkanya, fed a diet of poison from a young age until she can kill with it, but it cannot kill her. She is commanded to be a weapon for her king, and when Alexander the Great threatens her homeland Eka is sent to stand in the way of his relentless conquest.
Hidden within his court, Eka comes face to face with the threat Alexander’s invasions pose to every person in his way, not least the woman she is falling deeper and deeper in love with.
Raised to do the bidding of one king, and faced with the terrible ambition of another, Eka must make a choice that will change the world . . .
The Poison Palace is a stunning blend of historical and speculative fiction that tells the story of Alexander’s invasion of India as it’s never been told before.
‘Gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating’ ELIZABETH HAND
‘An exquisite and beguiling debut…An unforgettable retelling’ VICTORIA MACKENZIE
‘Opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights’ RUTH PADEL
‘An intimate epic – two women journey from the margins of history to stand against the greatest of conquerors’ SAMIT BASU
‘A dazzling debut’ ANNIE ZAIDI
‘Both intimate and mythic…It resounds in time and sings to the present with a singular voice’ INDRA DAS
‘As intricate as tapestry-grand in its scope, with captivatingly rich details and prose’ CHELSEA ABDULLAH
‘The Poison Palace will leave you breathless’ SHUBNUM KHAN
‘A unique retelling…The real humanity of this novel lies in its depiction of the lives upended by Alexander’s devastating rampage’ LAURA SHEPPERSON
Hidden within his court, Eka comes face to face with the threat Alexander’s invasions pose to every person in his way, not least the woman she is falling deeper and deeper in love with.
Raised to do the bidding of one king, and faced with the terrible ambition of another, Eka must make a choice that will change the world . . .
The Poison Palace is a stunning blend of historical and speculative fiction that tells the story of Alexander’s invasion of India as it’s never been told before.
‘Gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating’ ELIZABETH HAND
‘An exquisite and beguiling debut…An unforgettable retelling’ VICTORIA MACKENZIE
‘Opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights’ RUTH PADEL
‘An intimate epic – two women journey from the margins of history to stand against the greatest of conquerors’ SAMIT BASU
‘A dazzling debut’ ANNIE ZAIDI
‘Both intimate and mythic…It resounds in time and sings to the present with a singular voice’ INDRA DAS
‘As intricate as tapestry-grand in its scope, with captivatingly rich details and prose’ CHELSEA ABDULLAH
‘The Poison Palace will leave you breathless’ SHUBNUM KHAN
‘A unique retelling…The real humanity of this novel lies in its depiction of the lives upended by Alexander’s devastating rampage’ LAURA SHEPPERSON
Reviews
The Poison Palace is a unique retelling of the life and campaigns of Alexander the Great, told through the eyes of a vishkanya or poison girl, one who has been trained to use poison as a weapon while remaining unharmed. However, the real humanity of this novel lies in its depiction of the lives of those people, particularly the women and children, that have been upended by Alexander's devastating rampage. For fans of history and retellings alike
Such an unusual, intelligent and lucidly written book, which opens up an old story with the most surprising glints and insights
The Poison Palace is a dazzling debut that takes you on a tumultuous journey from the courtyard of a courtesan in ancient India to the punishing deserts of Iran and finally, Babylon where Alexander was felled. Shreya Ila Anasuya has entwined fantasy with myth and history to give us a novel as rare as the fabled snake-jewel. It will doubtless snag readers in both East and West.
Anasuya's The Poison Palace is as intricate as a tapestry-grand in its scope, with captivatingly rich details and prose. An epic debut, intimately told
Shreya Ila Anasuya's The Poison Palace unfolds the era of Alexander the Great's conquering rampage across Eurasia with a graceful, fiery verisimilitude both intimate and mythic, starting from the Indian subcontinent and stretching all the way to ancient Babylon--it resounds in time, and sings to the present with a singular voice. Don't miss it.
A captivating tale that will sweep you into a world where myth and ancient history entwine like serpents. Ambitious, powerful and dreamy-The Poison Palace will leave you breathless
An exquisite and beguiling debut, re-centering the lives of women and girls in the wake of Alexander the Great's devastating invasions of ancient India.This is a novel steeped in history and mythology, haunting yet sensual, written in prose to luxuriate in. An unforgettable retelling.
A gorgeous, sensual, completely captivating novel that immerses the reader in an ancient world and history, at once recognizable and utterly remote from our own. A stunning, fantastical debut from a superb writer - I couldn't put it down.
An intimate epic - two women journey from the margins of history to stand against the greatest of conquerors. A story of power, love, survival and resistance, meticulously researched, lyrically written and structurally ambitious. A stunning debut.