Civilizations

An ambitious and highly entertaining novel of revisionist history from the author of the international bestseller HHhH, Laurent Binet's Civilizations is nothing less than a strangely believable counterfactual history of the modern world, fizzing with ideas about colonization, empire building, and the eternal human quest for domination. It is an electrifying novel by one of Europe's most exciting writers.

C. 1000 CE: Erik the Red's daughter heads south from Greenland
1492: Columbus does not discover America
1531: The Incas invade Europe

Freydis is the leader of a band of Viking warriors who get as far as Panama. Nobody knows what became of them . . .

Five hundred years later, Christopher Columbus is sailing for the Americas, dreaming of gold and conquest. Even after he is captured by the Taínos, his faith in his superiority and his mission is unshaken.

Thirty-nine years after that, Atahualpa, the last Inca emperor, arrives in Europe. What does he find? The Spanish Inquisition, the Reformation, capitalism, the miracle of the printing press, endless warmongering between the ruling monarchies, and constant threat from the Turks. But most of all, downtrodden populations ready for revolution. Fortunately, he has a recent guidebook to acquiring power--Machiavelli's The Prince. It turns out he is very good at it. So, the stage is set for a Europe ruled by Incas and for a great war that will change history forever.


About the Author

Laurent Binet lives and works in France. His first novel, HHhH, was an international bestseller that won the prestigious Prix Goncourt du premier roman, among other prizes. His second novel, The Seventh Function of Language, won the Prix du Roman Fnac and the Prix Interallié. Civilizations is a bestseller and won the Grand Prix du roman de l'Académie française.

Sam Taylor is an award-winning literary translator and novelist. His four novels have been translated into ten languages, and he has translated more than sixty books from the French, including Laurent Binet's HHhH and Leila Slimani's The Perfect Nanny.