The Daughters Of Rome by Kate Quinn, Headline Review, $32.99.
As members of one of ancient Rome’s most privileged families, the four Cornelii women have ringside seats to all the brutality, danger and passion of the bloodthirsty sports of the Coliseum.
Yet, with Rome in turmoil, Marcella, Cornelia, Lollia and Diana are going to need as much courage and cunning as any gladiator, if they are to survive.
Clever Marcella wants to write history, but her access to power tempts her into the perils of making history.
Cornelia dreams of becoming empress, but happiness may lie in more humble circumstances.
Heiress and part-slave Lollia marries again and again, as her wily grandfather aligns himself with those in power.
And distant beauty Diana thinks only of horses, until invasion shows her true mettle. Kate Quinn creates four very different women, modern but believable.
Yet her real skill is subtly evolving their shifting loyalties and their growth in the face of tragedy, war and political upheaval.
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