Babel

From acclaimed author R.F. Kuang comes Babel, a bold and haunting tale that explores the power of language, colonialism, and the fierce struggles of identity and resistance.

Orphaned by cholera in Canton, Robin Swift is brought to London by the enigmatic Professor Lovell and trained in Latin, Ancient Greek, and Chinese—preparing for his entry into Oxford’s legendary Royal Institute of Translation, known simply as Babel. More than an academic institution, Babel is the heart of a magical empire, where the mysterious art of silver working—using enchanted silver bars to capture the untranslatable—grants Britain its unmatched power over the world.

To Robin, Babel promises knowledge and belonging, but as a Chinese boy raised in England, his loyalty is torn. Serving Babel means complicity in the very empire that crushed his homeland. Caught between the Institute and the secretive Hermes Society—a group determined to halt British imperialism—Robin faces the choice to either uphold the empire or join the revolution. When war erupts over silver and opium, Robin must confront whether true change is possible from within, or if the price of freedom is always violence.