Product Description
Passion. Treachery. Murder... A heart-stopping epic about a Jewish slave girl and Rome's greatest gladiator, who become involved in a plot to assassinate an emperor
Orphaned by Rome's savage legions, Thea, a slave girl from Judaea, has learned what it takes to survive. She knows only violence until a chance meeting with gladiator Arius offers a shred of tenderness. But their bond is severed when Thea is sold again, condemned to rot in squalor. Years later, a singer known as Athena betrays no hint of her troubled past. Catching the eye of the Emperor himself, she is swept into a world of decadence and depravity. But although Domitian fears betrayal from every side, he is unaware that the greatest threat lies next to him - a slave girl who has come to be called the Mistress of Rome...
Review
`What a great book!...one of the best things I've read in months and months. Full of great characters... So gripping your hands are glued to the book, and so vivid it burns itself into your mind's eye and stays with you long after you turn the final page' --Diana Gabaldon
`Kate Quinn is a mistress of storytelling. She gives us a wonderful and intensely emotional spectacle, full of sound and fury. A deeply passionate love story, tender and touching, in the heat and danger of the brutal arena that was Ancient Rome. An exhilarating read. Quinn is a remarkable new talent' --Kate Furnivall
`A great, sprawling epic, very much rooted in the human dramas. The politics and cultural stuff is commuted beautifully through the adventures of these people we come to care about deeply' --Paul Magrs
`A heady and exciting rollercoaster of a tale set in the reign of Emperor Domitian. Based on actual events, the brutality and decadence of the times is brought powerfully to life in a gripping and entertaining way'
--Bookseller
In this epic debut, Kate Quinn gives us a gripping version of 1st-century Rome...what seems at first to have all the earmarks of a straightforward romance expands to encompass greater themes, offering the intrigue of a political thriller and the depth of great literary fiction... Overall, Mistress of Rome is impeccably researched and beautifully executed. Such an accomplished debut can only augur many more impressive historical novels to come!
--Historical Novels Review, Issue 52, May 2010
`Fans of Philippa Gregory's books who have had enough of Elizabethan times will be entranced by this Rome-set debut....Awash with historical detail, this is a violent, passionate, compelling read.' --Elle Magazine
'a rollicking account...Thea's story rattles along with such infectious relish that the most pedantic classicist would be beguiled by it in the end.' --Daily Mail, July 2, 2010
`A riveting tale...glamorous and brutal, a heady mix of intrigue and combat, with added decadence and depravity...An exhilarating read.' MARIE CLAIRE --Marie Claire, July issue
`A wildly entertaining read, this vivid tale of scandal and romance will have you holding your breath with excitement.' --Now Magazine
Book Description
'SPARTACUS for girls' - this powerful Roman epic aimed squarely at the female market is perfect for all those who loved the HBO mini-series ROME, which attracted 6.6 million viewers on its BBC premiere
About the Author
Kate Quinn is a native of southern California. She attended Boston University, where she earned a Bachelor's and Master's degree in Classical Voice. A lifelong history buff, she first got hooked on ancient Rome while watching "I, Claudius" at the age of seven. She wrote her first book during her freshman year in college, retreating from a Boston winter into ancient Rome, and it was later published as "Mistress of Rome." A prequel followed, titled "Daughters of Rome," and then a sequel written while her husband was deployed to the Middle East.
"I realized that my Roman legionary hero in `Empress of the Seven Hills' was fighting in the same part of the world where my US Navy husband was deployed. Li
