The Judas Rose (Native Tongue Series #2)

by Suzette Haden Elgin, Rebecca Romney (Foreword by)

Overview

In this dystopian science fiction classic set in a world where women have no rights, the patriarchy sends a covert female agent to take down the resistance. 

In the second entry of the Native Tongue trilogy, the time has come for Láadan—the secret language created to resist an oppressive patriarchy—to empower womankind worldwide. To expand the language’s reach, female linguists translate the Bible into Láadan, and a group of Roman Catholic nuns are tasked to spread the language. But when outraged priests detect their sabotage, they send a double agent to infiltrate and destroy the movement from the inside…

Originally published in the 1980s, the Native Tongue trilogy is a classic dystopian tale: a testament to the power of language and women's collective action. 

“This angry feminist text is also an exemplary experiment in speculative fiction, deftly and implacably pursuing both a scientific hypothesis and an ideological hypothesis through all their social, moral, and emotional implications.”—Ursula K. Le Guin

“Less well known than The Handmaid's Tale but just as apocalyptic in their vision…Native Tongue along with its sequel The Judas Rose . . . record female tribulations in a world where…women have no public rights at all. Elgin's heroines do, however, have one set of weapons—words of their own.”—Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, New York Times Book Review

“A pioneering feminist experiment.”—Literary Hub

“A welcome reminder of the feminist legacies of science fiction…Explores the power of speech, agency, and subversion in a work that is as gripping, troubling, and meaningful today as it has ever been.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781936932658
Publisher:	Feminist Press at CUNY, The
Publication date:	07/08/2020
Series:	Native Tongue Series , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	400
File size:	2 MB

About the Author

Suzette Haden Elgin (born Patricia Anne Wilkins; 1936 – 2015) is an American science fiction author. She founded the Science Fiction Poetry Association, and is considered an important figure in the field of science fiction constructed languages. Elgin was also a linguist; she published non-fiction, of which the best-known is the Gentle Art of Verbal Self-Defense series.

Editorial Reviews

"Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue trilogy, a classic text of angry feminism, is also an exemplary experiment in speculative fiction, deftly and implacably pursuing both a scientific hypothesis and an ideological hypothesis through all their social, moral, and emotional implications." —Ursula K. Le Guin, author of The Left Hand of Darkness

"Suzette Haden Elgin's Native Tongue. . . records female tribulation in a world where . . . women have no public rights at all. Elgin's heroines do, however, have one set of weapons—words of their own." —Sandra M. Gilbert and Susan Gubar, The New York Times Book Review

"Native Tongue brings to life not only the possibility of a women's language, but also the rationale for one. . . . [It is] a language that can bring to life concepts men have never needed, have never dreamed of—and thus change the world. Elgin never makes the mistake of easy utopiansim or over-optimism. Her women revel in patience." —Voice Literary Supplement

"Drastically and distinctly, Elgin has carried current fundamentalist views on women to their 'logical' conclusion. . . . Above all she understands that until women find the words and syntax for what they need to say, they will never say it, nor will the world hear it. . . . There isn't a phony or romantic moment here, and the story is absolutely compelling." —Women's Review of Books

"Elgin's novel will inspire those who believe that women's words can change the world." —Marleen S. Barr, author of Lost in Space: Probing Feminist Science Fiction and Beyond

From the Publisher