B Reviews / Book Reviews5th Century / Byzantine Empire / Constantinople / European-Historical / fisherman / Historical / marriage on the rocks / Mediterranean setting / Middle East / political intrigue / slavery / weaver / working class8 Comments
Set in early Christian times, the tale of the weaver Demetrias portrays her entrapment in a treasonous plot against the Byzantine emperor and her fight to protect her family and self as the battle for Constantinople rages. TR – In the past, the heroine was raped (not described). The heroine ... more >
Book Reviews / C+ Reviews6th century / Alternate POV / Byzantine Empire / Constantinople / First-Person / Historical / Historical fictionComments Off on REVIEW: Fortune’s Child by James Conroyd Martin
Theodora: actress, prostitute, mistress, feminist. And Byzantine Empress of the civilized world. Stephen: handsome Syrian boy, wizard’s apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress. How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography? From a very young age, Theodora, ... more >
B+ Reviews / Book Reviews / Recommended Reads4th Century / ancient-Egypt / ancient-Rome / Byzantine Empire / chick-in-pants / Egypt / European-Historical / female doctor / Historical / religion9 Comments
In the Fourth Century A.D., independent and determined young Charis is forbidden to become a doctor because she is a woman. Disguising herself as a eunuch, she flees Ephesus and an unwanted marriage for Alexandria, then the center of learning. There she apprentices to a Jewish doctor but eventually becomes ... more >