The Judas Rose — Suzette Haden Elgin

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)