BELSHAZZAR

BELSHAZZAR is a historical novel by English writer, H. RIDER HAGGARD, set in ancient Babylon. It was written in 1924, and was just finished at the time of his death. Belshazzar was Haggard’s last novel. The novel was published posthumously. It was refused by Haggard's regular publisher Hutchinson's, and the first U.K. edition was published by Stanley Paul & Co., Ltd., London, in September 1930. The first U.S. edition was published by Doubleday, Doran and Co., New York, the same year. Belshazzar is a historical adventure novel which takes place in ancient Babylon, focusing on Egyptian Prince Ramose's quest to rescue his captive wife, Myra, from the decadent King Belshazzar, amidst the city's impending fall to Cyrus the Persian, weaving in biblical prophecy like the "writing on the wall" and featuring figures like the prophet Daniel as it chronicles Babylonian splendor, court intrigue, and ultimate doom.