Kuang inserts a piece of alternative history in mid-1800s England with this ambitious novel. Nicknamed Babel, the Royal Institute of Translation, a fictional entity, located in a grand tower at the heart of Oxford University, is the seat of England’s real power. Silver bars inscribed with pairs of synonym phrases in two languages with close, yet not quite matching meaning create a seemingly magical effect, such as making fishermen’s yields greater, trains run faster and more smoothly, and healing sickness and wounds. Silver bar technology is making England the strongest country in the world, and the locus of power is Babel, where students are trained to be translators, and the best translators work to create innovative match pairs, and sustain the strength of existing silver.

As England grows in power, her language adopts new phrases from the lands she exploits. Likewise, the languages of Europe are losing their effectiveness. This makes it increasingly difficult to create match pairs. The Institute must seek out native speakers of languages untainted by English influence, to create matches with the necessary gaps in meaning the bars require. These native speakers must possess strong language proficiency and intelligence, and it is convenient if they must escape poverty and violence in their homeland. Faculty from the Institute find these candidates, bring them to England to educate them in Latin, Greek, and English, and if they are sufficiently proficient, enroll them at the Institute at Oxford.

Professor Richard Lovell brings a Cantonese orphan, whose chosen English name is Robin Swift, selected for his Mandarin and Cantonese proficiencies. At Oxford, Robin meets Ramy from Calcutta, fluent in Hindi and Arabic; Victoire from Haiti, fluent in Creole and French; and Letty, a British Naval Admiral’s daughter, fluent in German. The foursome bond in the way of new students excited in their studies, new-found freedoms, and the pleasures of Oxford. Their bonds are tightened by their outsider status at Oxford, as people of color, or for Letty, a rare woman at Oxford.

Robin, Ramy, and Victoire are recruited to assist the Hermes Society, a clandestine organization dedicated to the overthrow of the silver system, in an effort to break Britain’s hold on developing nations. Robin is approached by his half brother, Griffin, an Institute dropout who was also brought to England by Professor Lovell. It is through association with Hermes and Griffin that Robin’s eyes are opened to Britain’s power, and the exploitation of developing countries, their raw materials, land, and citizens. Through Robin’s perspective, the reader gradually sees the willing bondage of the Institute’s foreign students, and how they are allowed to enjoy the pleasures of English life in exchange for their required language expertise, while never permitted the complete freedoms of equal citizens. Robin comes to understand Britain’s imperial exploitation of various nations, the dark side of capitalism, and the tainting of the pure pursuit of academic achievement and learning. The four students must each determine if they will be complicit, or seek to overthrow the system.

Kuang’s critique of the co-opting of academia by governments feels heartfelt, a paean to the joys of study, mastery, and discovery as pure; corrupted and shackled by political and industrial power. One can remove silver from the equation, and still see that Britain exploited other nations and their peoples, as the Opium Wars in China, and slavery, attest. The reader will appreciate Kuang’s skill and inventiveness in creating this alternate history, neatly imbedded and aligned with history as we know it. The novel reads as good fantasy, creative alternate history, entertaining action, and as a potent social and political critique. Note also her theme of the ineffable power of language, expressed metaphorically in the effect on silver. The unique expressions of a given language, expressing what is not perfectly captured in another language, demonstrates the uniqueness of each culture, and unique perspective on the human experience.

Read my review for Yellowface, Kuang’s most recent novel (https://www.margueritereads.com/home/yellowface-by-r-f-kuang?rq=yellowface).