As his studies progress, Robin finds himself caught between Babel and the shadowy Hermes Society, an organization dedicated to stopping imperial expansion. But knowledge obeys power, and as a Chinese boy raised in Britain, Robin realizes serving Babel means betraying his motherland. Set in 1828, Babel follows Robin Swift who when orphaned by cholera in Canton is brought to London where he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, preparing for the day he’ll enrol in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation also known as Babel. Kuang Publication Date: AugGenres: Fantasy, Fiction, Historical Fantasy, Historical Fiction Hardcover: 560 pages Publisher: Harper Voyager ISBN-10: 0063021420 ISBN-13: 9780063021426 About the Book R. Silver working-the art of manifesting the meaning lost in translation using enchanted silver bars-has made the British unparalleled in power, as its knowledge serves the Empire’s quest for colonization.įor Robin, Oxford is a utopia dedicated to the pursuit of knowledge. Babel: Or the Necessity of Violence: An Arcane History of the Oxford Translators Revolution by R. There, he trains for years in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese, all in preparation for the day he’ll enroll in Oxford University’s prestigious Royal Institute of Translation-also known as Babel.īabel is the world's center for translation and, more importantly, magic. Robin Swift, orphaned by cholera in Canton, is brought to London by the mysterious Professor Lovell. Traduttore, traditore: An act of translation is always an act of betrayal.

Norrell that grapples with student revolutions, colonial resistance, and the use of language and translation as the dominating tool of the British empire. Kuang comes Babel, a thematic response to The Secret History and a tonal retort to Jonathan Strange & Mr.

Oxford translators revolution