Arcane University

Lore & Background

Babel is set in a fantastical version of Oxford, England, spanning from the 1830s to 1840. In this reality, Britain's global supremacy relies on magical silver bars powered by 'what is lost in translation' between languages with similar but not identical meanings. To harness this, Oxford University created the Royal Institute of Translation, nicknamed Babel, where scholars find match-pairs. The magic system draws inspiration from Greek mythology and 19th-century German philologists. The novel depicts a world where European language translation is diminishing, making 'exotic' languages like Mandarin, Haitian Creole, and Arabic essential for maintaining the empire's power. This magical industrial revolution supports Britain's infrastructure but displaces the working class and reinforces colonial dominance.

In Their Own Story

The plot follows Robin Swift, an orphan from Canton raised by his biological father, Professor Richard Lovell. After seven years of tutoring in Latin, Greek, and Mandarin, Robin enters Babel alongside friends Ramy (from Calcutta), Victoire (from Haiti), and Letty. Robin is recruited into the clandestine Hermes Society by his half-brother Griffin to undermine Britain's silver supremacy. Tensions rise as the group realizes their work sustains imperialism. During a sea trip to Canton, Robin witnesses British contempt for the Qing Dynasty and meets official Lin Zexu. After Lovell attempts to justify war over opium trade refusal, Robin kills him with a silver bar. The group discovers the negotiations were a sham to seize Chinese silver. Letty initially betrays them but later joins their cause after learning of imperial atrocities. Following Ramy's death at Letty's hand during a police raid and Griffin's death in a prison break, Robin and Victoire resolve to destroy Babel. They capture the college tower, remove resonance rods to cripple Britain's magic, and attract radical supporters. Ultimately, Robin destroys the tower from within with the remaining scholars, ending the Silver Industrial Revolution.

Reader's Guide

Babel critiques British imperialism, racism, capitalism, and academia's complicity in these systems. The narrative explores themes of language as a tool for colonization and assimilation, mirroring characters' internal struggles. Robin Swift embodies this conflict, changing his name and modeling himself after Lovell to gain acceptance before rejecting the system. The story highlights classism, showing magic silver benefits only the wealthy while displacing workers. Key figures include Professor Richard Lovell (a committed imperialist), Griffin Lovell (who advocates violence), and Anthony Ribben (who believes in non-violent change). The novel draws on Frantz Fanon's work on colonial psychological damage and Edward Said's Orientalism research.

Did You Know?

• The novel debuted at number one on The New York Times Best Seller list.
• Babel won Blackwell's Books of the Year for Fiction in 2022 and the 2022 Nebula Award for Best Novel.
• The magic system relies on capturing what is 'lost in translation' between words with similar but not identical meanings in different languages.
• Professor Lovell is Robin Swift's biological father, though neither discusses this openly until the end of their relationship.
• The story concludes in 1840 after Robin destroys Babel's tower to cripple Britain's silver-dependent infrastructure.