Civilisations

It's world history. But not as we know it.

c.1000AD: Erik the Red's daughter heads south from Greenland
1492: Columbus does not discover America
1531: the Incas invade Europe

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them. Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even when captured, his faith in his mission is unshaken.

Thirty years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in a Europe ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power - Machiavelli's The Prince. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and, when the Aztecs arrive on the scene, for a great war that will change history forever.

'Binet's best book yet: the work of a major writer just hitting his stride. A delightful counterfactual novel' ***** - Daily Telegraph

About the author

Laurent Binet lives and works in France. His first novel, HHhH, was an international bestseller which won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman, among other prizes. The 7th Function of Language won the Prix de la FNAC and Prix Interallié. Civilisations is a bestseller that has won the Grand Prix de l'Académie française.Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. He has translated more than 60 books from French including Laurent Binet's HHhH and Leila Slimani's Lullaby.

Summary

So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and, when the Aztecs arrive on the scene, for a great war that will change history forever. Civilisations is a wildly entertaining counterfactual story about the modern world, colonisation, empire-building and the eternal human quest for domination.

Report

Glorious, funny and profound Daily Telegraph

Product details

• Authors: Laurent Binet, Binet Laurent
• Assisted by: Sam Taylor (Translation)
• Publisher: Vintage UK
• Languages: English
• Product format: Paperback
• Released: 14.04.2022
• EAN: 9781529112818
• ISBN: 978-1-5291-1281-8
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 129 mm x 198 mm x 30 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; FICTION / War & Military, FICTION / Historical / General, FICTION / Sagas, Europe, FICTION / Action & Adventure, Historical adventure, FICTION / Cultural Heritage, Fiction in translation, War & combat fiction, Ancient World, c 1000 CE to c 1500, Adventure fiction, Empires & historical states, The Americas, War, combat and military adventure fiction, Historical states and empires: multi-continental, Aztec Empire, Mesoamerican civilisations, Aztec Empire / Aztec civilisation, Mesoamerican cultures / civilisations