Elissa

The ruins of Great Zimbabwe have puzzled historians for centuries. Who built these stone towers in the heart of ancient Africa, and what catastrophe destroyed them? H. Rider Haggard weaves a sweeping romance around this very mystery. Prince Aziel is the grandson of Solomon the Wise and a daughter of Pharaoh, heir to two empires of legend. Elissa is a priestess of Baal, sworn to celibacy and the fire-god of Zimboe. When they meet in the ancient city, their love ignites across a fault line that could collapse kingdoms. She serves a god who demands human sacrifice. He carries the blood of the God of Israel. Their union offends both faiths, and the priests of Baal will not tolerate betrayal. Haggard delivers Victorian romance at its most operatic, building toward a devastating choice: love or duty, passion or peace, two souls or ten thousand lives. For readers who crave sweeping historical epics where love is doomed precisely because it matters.