The Invisible Library

The year is 323 BC. Alexander the Great has strychnine poisoning. He lies paralysed in Babylon. Phyllis, his lover, has been arrested and will be permitted to live as long as she writes down everything she knows about the king for the new ruler. She reveals several details of the final months of Alexander’s campaign and of his teacher Aristotle’s presence in Babylon.

This period in Alexander’s life is rarely discussed by historians. This novel starts to tell us why. The Invisible Library is a novel, but Steen bases his text on facts where they can be found. Where they cannot, he writes based on what is probable. And finally, where he encounters gaps, he weaves fiction into the mix. His methods are reminiscent of Hilary Mantel’s. Several of his novels have anticipated later discoveries by historians.

Steen worked on the novel for six years after he made new discoveries about the final months of Alexander’s life in Babylon. Adresseavisen writes: ‘Steen paints a razor-sharp picture of a man on the brink. It is a spectacular and exciting historical novel that once again shows that Steen is unrivalled in this genre.’ Dagsavisen writes: ‘The precise articulation and the characteristics of people and landscapes contributes to the close atmosphere and drive in the narrative.’