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.
Susan Ferrier MacKay is a journalist and writer who lives outside Toronto.
HarperCollins, North America, 2014
Droemer, Germany 2014
Butterfly of Venus
An Erotic Novel
At age 40, Elizabeth Harding has been harboring a sexual secret. Despite her worldliness as a woman, and as head of a hugely successful music talent management company, she has never experienced satisfaction with a partner.
When we meet Elizabeth, she is recovering from the collapse of her relationship with Sampson, a real estate tycoon who left her for a young lingerie model. Her friend Effie refuses to let her mope any longer and plans a surprise spa visit and birthday party for her. At the party, she is smitten by surprise guest Declan Thomas, a stunningly attractive, brilliant, young singer/songwriter, 16 year her junior.
Despite her fear of mixing business and sex, plus anxiety over their age difference, Elizabeth is won over by the confident young man who insists she share her steamy inner world of fantasy with him.
Their bubble of joy and delightful glamour is pierced by Declan’s complex personal life. He is being stalked by a viperous, possessive former lover who insinuates herself into Elizabeth’s office and the heart of her world. The situation is more hazardous than Elizabeth forecasts. She stands to lose everything: Declan, her business, her balance, and maybe even her life.
Elizabeth must eventually decide if Declan is mature enough to deal with issues surrounding his identity, and if he can embrace the responsibilities of fatherhood when she finds herself pregnant. Elizabeth must also decide if she can chart an entirely new direction for her life.
Within the frame of this erotic romance, Susan Ferrier MacKay has written a layered novel that satisfies on many levels.
In the upcoming sequel, Elizabeth faces her worst fears when Declan’s former girlfriend, the psychotic sexpot Natasha, wreaks further havoc.
