Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

In Rome, the year AD 69 is commonly referred to as the “Year of Four Emperors”.  For those who lived through it, it must have been a time of uncertainty, confusion and fear as political realities and loyalties frequently shifted under everyone’s feet. Kate Quinn relates this turbulent period of Roman history through the stories of four young “daughters of Rome”. The four are cousins and each has a distinct personality – Cornelia (the eldest and practical one); Marcella (her sister and the bookworm/history lover of the group); Lollia (the beautiful one) and Diana (the youngest and a horse-crazy tomboy).


As the emperors of Rome come and go, each of the “Cornelias”  (each is named Cornelia but go by a nickname in order to differentiate themselves) must find their own way to survive the chaos around them. Particularly interesting and highlighting the position many women found themselves in is Lollia – she is divorced and remarried each time a new emperor comes on the scene as her father uses her to win favor with whoever is in power at the moment. It’s sad really; the reality of it is even sadder.

Being unfamiliar with pretty much most of Roman history, this was a nice change of pace from the abundance of books set in England that fill my bookshelves. Although it took a little while to get going, the political intrigues were interesting as were the lives of the women themselves – women who seem to have everything but underneath the pretty clothes and jewels they are plagued by self doubt, fear and the lack of power/control over their future. They are witty and fun-loving and fuss and fight with each other as all relatives do, but when Rome itself is threatened, they come together.

Almost as central to the story as the characters are the historical details Quinn incorporates throughout – food, clothing, entertainment (who knew Roman horse racing could be as competitive as any modern day sporting event?) and lifestyle, breathing life into a city and its people. Speaking of horse racing – Diana is a teenager and seems to have quite a bit of freedom to wander around on her own and hang out at the horse stables. I don’t know enough about Roman society to know if this is realistic or not, but for someone who is used to reading medievals,  it struck me as a little odd.  Overall, something different and fun - I enjoyed it a great deal!


In case the FTC asks: The publisher sent me a copy for review.