Athaliah

About the Book

Athaliah, Queen of Judah is a drama about one of the most ambitious and ruthless women in the Hebrew Bible. After the murder of her son, King Ahaziah, by a Samaria’s general, Jehu, Athaliah (daughter of Jezebel) sought to wipe out all Davidic heirs to the throne of Judah. She usurped power and became queen. However, Joash, her one- year-old grandson, was rescued by his aunt, Jehosheba, and so escaped his grandmother’s plot. After six years of Athaliah promoting Ba’al worship, the High Priest, Jehoiada, orchestrated a legitimate and ingenious coup. Joash was crowned king of Judah at the age of seven. Athaliah was deposed and executed.

About the Author

VICTOR SASSON was born in Baghdad in1937. He holds degrees from the University of London, and a Ph.D. from New York University. He is the author of the plays, The Marriage of Maggie and Ronnie, Shylock of Venice, King Caliban, Atallah the Moor of Venice, and Elijah the Tishbite. He has also published fiction and non-fiction, and a memoir of his childhood in Baghdad. A Londoner at one time in the past, he now lives in New York.