Belshazzar: a Tale of the Fall of Babylon

Belshazzar: a tale of the fall of Babylon, is a historical fiction book by William Stearns Davis. It is set in about 700 B.C. in Babylon, where the Jews struggled under the heavy yoke of the king.

This book starts when the envoy of the powerful king Cyrus, Prince Darius, escorts the Princess Atossa, who is the daughter of Cyrus and the woman Darius loves, to be Belshazzar's bride. Because of his deep love for Atossa, Darius swears that he will never let her become the bride of Belshazzar, but complications arise when Darius discovers the ulterior motives of the king.

I would probably recommend this book for ages 12 and up because it is written in an eloquent way that might be hard for younger children to understand. In this book, there are also a few intense parts that may be too much for someone younger than 12. Personally, though, I loved this book because it was a new way of telling the well known Bible story of Belshazzar.

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AK