In 701 B.C. the Assyrian empire was in its ascendancy. It had already vanquished the kingdom of Israel to the north including the capital at Samaria. It then prepared an assault on Judah and its capital at Jerusalem.
But in one of those significant events that changes the course of world history, Assyria was repelled. Jerusalem was saved until 586 B.C. when the Babylonians sacked the city, forcing its leadership class into exile.
Henry Aubin, in a major feat of scholarship, determines that Jerusalem was aided by a Kushite army from Africa which had marched northeast from the Nile valley. While the Bible attributes the Assyrian retreat to an angel and secular commentators cite pestilence, Aubin, in a meticulously documented work, demonstrates that an alliance with the African nation of Kush bolstered Jerusalem’s defences.
Kush, also known as Nubia, was located in what is now southern Egypt and northern Sudan. A monarchy that existed for more than 1000 years, from 900 B.C. to A.D. 350, Kushites held sway over Egypt from 712 B.C. to about 660 B.C. Of Egypt’s 31 dynasties, this, the 25th Dynasty, is the only one that all scholars agree, was black.
The commander of the Kushite expeditionary force was Taharqa (or as the Bible calls him Tirhakah). This Kushite prince, who had his own interests in halting Assyrian expansion, likely caught the aggressors by surprise as they prepared their siege of Jerusalem.
Aubin offers a thrilling military history and a stirring political analysis of the ancient world. He also sees the event as influential over the centuries.
The Kushite rescue of the Hebrew kingdom of Judah enabled the fragile, war-ravaged state to endure, to nurse itself back to economic and demographic health, and allowed the Hebrew religion, Yahwism, to evolve within the next several centuries into Judaism. Thus emerged the monotheistic trunk supporting Christianity and Islam.
Praise for No Defense:
“Wallace avoids any Grisham-come-lately clichés in this interesting novel of southern justice… This page-turner of a novel is refreshing in it’s uncommon perspective, as opposed to the usual legal novel that focuses on lawyers.”
Booklist
“Rangeley Wallace has written a taut, compelling Southern drama that is cut from the same cloth as Harper Lee and the early William Faulkner.”
Winston Groom,
author of Forrest Gump
“A riveting courtroom drama…Another fine story in the Southern literary tradition”
Library Journal
Rangeley Wallace moved from the South toWashington, D.C. where she is an author and a lawyer. She is the author of No Defense (St. Martin’s Press).
Manuscript Available
Love is Merely a Madness
“Rangeley Wallace is a hard, fresh wind from the south, with a voice full of particularity and a born sense of story.”
Anne River Siddons
It seems like a benign case of wedding jitters when Alexa Cunningham’s ambivalence about her forthcoming marriage to the glamorous David Lassiter grips her. But in this beautifully told tale, rich in cultural texture of the contemporary South, it points to Alexa’s unresolved issues from her past.
Four years earlier, Alexa’s happy life script was written. She and her boyfriend Nick and her dearest friend Kat had moved to Carsonville, Alabama. Their plans included marriage to Nick and a position in the family business for Alexa, legal training for Nick, and medical studies for Kat. Then tragedy strikes.
When Alexa and Kat are horseback riding, Kat suffers a terrible fall on one of Alexa’s horses. It leaves Kat a paraplegic, and an ensuing lawsuit against Alexa’s family envelops everyone in anger. Relationships are ruptured.
Confused, abandoned by her friend, and guilt-ridden, Alexa flees her hometown and Nick, and reestablishes herself as an investment banker in Atlanta where she is swept away by the sophisticated jewellery designer David.
Coming back to Carsonville to be with her father, stirs Alexa’s longings for Nick, the family construction business, and the life she expected to have. To her shock, Kat also is back in Carsonville, and once again is close to her family.
Ironically, everyone has moved on except Alexa. And she has lost her footing. Can she go back? With compassion, humor and deep understanding, Rangeley Wallace weaves a story of family, friendship and love to engage the heart.
