by Antoinette May (Author)
Claudia has a privileged life. Niece of Rome's favoured warrior, she lives in luxury, surrounded by her family and tended by slaves. Gifted with second sight, her dreams tell her many things, from which gladiator will win the battle in the Coliseum to the secret enemies who plot against the Emperor. When Claudia falls deeply in love with a charismatic soldier known as Pilate, she determines to win his heart, whatever the cost. Ignoring the warnings, she enchants Pilate with a love-spell and the pair are swiftly, blissfully, married. As wife to one of Rome's rising stars, Claudia is admired and talked about, for her beauty, for her lavish parties and for her gift of the sight. Yet her dreams begin to trouble her...Rome is built on powerful, treacherous alliances, and while Pilate's star continues to rise, shame and tragedy stalk Claudia's family. As a circle of betrayal and despair threatens to encompass her, Claudia realises her fate and future happiness is inextricably bound with a man who appears in her dreams, a man who wears a crown of thorns, a man she knows her husband must not condemn to death ...
Format: Paperback
Pages: 512
Publisher: Orion
Published: 20 Mar 2008
ISBN 10: 0752893181
ISBN 13: 9780752893181
Book Overview: Steeped in adultery, intrigue and betrayal, this is the wonderfully compelling story of Claudia, the visionary wife of Pontius Pilate, the man who sentenced Jesus to death. It gives an enthralling new perspective on one of the most well-known stories of all time. This is gloriously readable historical fiction - thrilling, exciting and utterly compelling. A vivid and powerful portrait of a woman's place in Roman society, full of over-indulgence and opulence, exquisite colour and cruelty. Sweeping from the battlefields of Gaul to the coliseum of Rome, from the temples of Isis in Alexandria to the crucifixion in Jerusalem, this is an epic novel in every sense. 'Like Anita Diamant's Old Testament blockbuster THE RED TENT, [CLAUDIA] makes the female experience of pas millennia exotic yet universal' USA TODAY. Antoinette May's non-fiction books have appeared regularly on the New York Times bestseller list; this is her debut novel. Special for the paperback edition - new material including what life was like for Roman women