Absalom

Absalom was a son of King David who leads a rebellion against his father. After building support in Jerusalem, Absalom forces David to flee but is defeated in the battle in the Forest of Ephraim and killed despite David’s order that he be spared.

Geraldine Brooks’s The Secret Chord places Absalom within a narrative shaped by political ambition and government, crime, espionage and covert power, and court politics and dynastic power.