Testaments of the Twelve Patriarchs recounted in the canonical Bible. The "Testament" adds that Reuben spies Bilhah as she bathes in secret; and that when she later becomes drunk, Reuben rapes her. That trope derives from a reading of Genesis 49:4, "wanton as water", as "wanton "in" water", taken from the Book of Jubilees. This theme is also in 2 Samuel 11:2's account of David and Bathsheba. The "Testament" portrays women as the cause of the downfall of the Watcher, and of man in general (excepting Bilhah, in accordance with "Jubilees"). Joseph is on the other hand portrayed as the ideal, for his resistance against
The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton The Story of Marie Powell: Wife to Mr. Milton, by Robert Graves, 1943, is a 1943 historical novel based on a true story, the life of the young wife of poet John Milton. Graves tells it from her viewpoint and paints an unflattering portrait of Milton. In addition to Milton and Marie, real historical characters included in the story include Edmund Verney, who is depicted as Marie's true love. Summarising the novel for the Carcanet edition, Simon Brittan wrote that: "Graves regards [Milton] as one of the heinous monsters in the