Eden Abandoned: The Story of Lilith

Shinie Antony

'Women are born in survival mode. Their job, they are told, is to love. But what is this love they neither know nor see – this illiquid, no-return-on-investment, invisible land they must buy with all their soul money?'

Lilith. Wild, untameable Lilith. She is the love of Adam's life – the only woman for the only man on Earth. Until Adam replaces her with Eve. Biddable, meek, subservient Eve. 'Lilith is demanding, short-tempered and unnatural in her sexual desires,' Adam complains to God. Cast out of Eden, Lilith roams the Earth, masters the dark arts and fights the system: dissent is delicious. She is now the Lilith – night monster, seductress of demons. And child-killer. Lilith, from whom the word lullaby comes – 'Lilith, begone,' sing mothers to protect their sleeping babies. Lilith, the irresistible temptress. Eden's controversial once-occupant goes on a rampage to discover all that she is and all that she could be. Beyond Adam. Beyond Eden. Beyond God.

In this gripping take on female rage and agency, Shinie Antony sculpts a ferocious woman born from the ashes of her former self. Exuberant, unapologetic and unrestrained, Lilith shines, soars and persists – a historic villainess and a modern-day heroine.