tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post116126818989997549..comments2024-03-27T22:25:42.129-05:00Comments on Reading the Past: A few Roman and medieval novelsSarah Johnsonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-1161463177505631652006-10-21T15:39:00.000-05:002006-10-21T15:39:00.000-05:00The novels I know of with Empress Theodora as the ...The novels I know of with Empress Theodora as the heroine are quite old. She appears in Gillian Bradshaw's <I>The Bearkeeper's Daughter</I>, which is pretty good, though the storyline there is completely fictional.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-1161449778623780722006-10-21T11:56:00.000-05:002006-10-21T11:56:00.000-05:00This may sound strange but I do not ever read insp...This may sound strange but I do not ever read inspirational fiction. Most of it is too sappy. I prefer biographies, and a few very well-written historical novels.<BR/><BR/>I always wanted to write a novel about Byzantium, maybe with Empress Theodora as the heroine. (Has that been done?) But for me to write about it, I would have to spend a few days in Istanbul, absorbing the atmosphere of the bazaars, the Hagia Sophia, the port. Maybe someday. Similarly, I can't write about Bonnie Prince Charlie until I visit Culloden.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-1161297983030733002006-10-19T17:46:00.000-05:002006-10-19T17:46:00.000-05:00Hmm, hard to say. She has written inspirational f...Hmm, hard to say. She has written inspirational fiction before - check out the reviews of Tathea on Amazon (trade reviews, that is, not just the reader reviews). Haven't read it myself, but they're rather mixed. The setting of this one intrigues me, though, so I'll be giving it a try. <BR/><BR/>No pub date was given, so I'm guessing it's at least a year away, probably more, as she already has two books coming out in early '07, same publisher.Sarah Johnsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13340312953393474963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-1161294883666498692006-10-19T16:54:00.000-05:002006-10-19T16:54:00.000-05:00Hm, I better get those Roman Empire books finished...Hm, I better get those Roman Empire books finished and submitted for publication then. :)<BR/><BR/>I liked <I>Beacon of Alexandria</I>, but I'm not sure about this one. "...and the path to heaven," smells a bit much like the sort of inspirational books I don't want to read.Gabriele Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17205770868139083575noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-19307003.post-1161294267152791812006-10-19T16:44:00.000-05:002006-10-19T16:44:00.000-05:00Yes, the Byzantine empire has always fascinated me...Yes, the Byzantine empire has always fascinated me but it hasn't been done all that much in fiction. The classic is Lew Wallace's "The Prince of India" which is probably out of print. The woman physicisn/scholar disguised as a eunuch is a very old legend and some people think it had some connection with the Pope Joan story.<BR/><BR/>Those comments from Prospect Magazine are excellent and worth remembering, "that people now long dead were not abstractions." Historical fiction is a way of making history alive, which is why the writers must have a certain integrity, and be truthful as well as vivid! Thanks, Sarah, for the inspiration!!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com