A thrillingly imaginative reinvention of imperial Rome that’s full of suspense and moral drama.
A work of historical fiction, set in the first century, dramatizes the life of Locusta of Gaul, a woman famed for being a skilled poisoner of thousands.
Locusta, whom her father calls the “most beautiful woman in Gaul,” is promised in marriage to the wealthy Faustinus—a prospect that initially delights her. But when she meets him in person, she discovers an ugly, coarse old man who’s capable of unspeakable cruelty; before they’re married, he brutally rapes her. Pricilla, Locusta’s servant and best friend, uses her knowledge of herbal poisons to murder Faustinus in revenge. Pricilla then becomes Locusta’s mentor, teaching her not only which flowers have “lethal seeds, and which deadly blooms,” but also the ways to prudently navigate a “poison-filled world.” The servant counsels and warns simultaneously: “Knowledge of deadly plants is the worst kind….It will end all innocence—shine a light on your soul—make you see the dark workings of your mind and heart—make you question the truths you cling to.” Locusta is sent to Rome to petition Emperor Claudius on behalf of her father, Quintus Metallus Parisii, a vintner who’s dangerously behind on his taxes. Once there, she’s drawn into the dangerous world of political intrigue and compelled to conspire against Claudius. Bardot (Dragon Lady, 2019, etc.) spins a grippingly dark tale about Locusta’s life as an “assassin and peddler of poison” in the service of Claudius’ successor, Emperor Nero, a truly twisted man. The author masterfully portrays the vicious contests for power that characterized Roman politics at the time and the lurid manner in which such political ambition combined with more carnal longings. As Locusta learns from Pricilla about the plight of women in a world dominated by men, readers get the remarkable perspective of a woman who’s vulnerable but resilient.
A thrillingly imaginative reinvention of imperial Rome that’s full of suspense and moral drama.Pub Date: Sept. 14, 2019
ISBN: 978-0-9882092-9-9
Page Count: 474
Publisher: Flores Publishing
Review Posted Online: Jan. 29, 2020
Review Program: Kirkus Indie
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
BOOK REVIEW
BOOK REVIEW
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her...
Another middle-aged mom in a muddle.
After years of false starts and big hopes, Elizabeth’s ruggedly handsome husband Jack, a former football star, just landed a spot as a sportscaster on national news. He still loves her, even though much younger women are giving him come-hither looks. Heck, he doesn’t want to betray the love of his life after she helped him kick drugs and stuck by him even when he was a struggling has-been. And won’t it seem hypocritical if he fools around with his sexy assistant while he does in-depth reporting on a rape case involving a famous basketball center? Well, he fools around anyway. Elizabeth, nicknamed Birdie, knows nothing of this, but she withdraws from Jack when her hard-drinking, salt-of-the-earth father has a stroke and dies. Now no one will call her “sugar beet” ever again. Time to return home to Tennessee and contend with Anita, the sort-of-evil stepmother so trashy she wears pink puffy slippers all day long. Naturally, it turns out that Anita actually has a heart of gold and knows a few things about Birdie’s dead mother that were hushed up for years. Mom was an artist, just like Birdie, and an old scandal comes to light as Anita unrolls a vibrant canvas that portrays her secret lover. Perhaps, Birdie muses, her mother died of heartbreak, never having followed her true love or developed her talent. Has she, too, compromised everything she holds dear? Hoping to find out, Birdie joins a support group that promises to reconnect confused women with their passion. She and Jack separate, prompting a how-dare-you fit from their grown daughters. Will Birdie fly her empty nest? Will she go back to college for a degree in art? Will her brooding watercolors ever sell?
Soft-focus story moves right along with few surprises. This time around, Hannah avoids the soap-opera complications of her previous tales (Summer Island, 2001, etc.).Pub Date: July 1, 2002
ISBN: 0-345-45071-X
Page Count: 352
Publisher: Ballantine
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: May 15, 2002
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