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Actress, Empress, Whore: A Novel
by Stella Duffy
Roman historian Procopius publicly praised Theodora of Constantinople for her piety - while secretly detailing her salacious stage act and maligning her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was this woman who rose from humble beginnings as a dancer to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church? Award-winning novelist Stella Duffy vividly recreates the life and times of a woman who left her mark on one of the ancient world's most powerful empires. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore is a sexy, captivating novel that resurrects an extraordinary, little-known figure from the dusty pages of history.
"Duffy's seductive retelling of the story of the legendary empress Theodora will delight historical fiction fans... a portrait of a woman who rose from misfortune and poverty to build an empire alongside a devoted husband." - Publishers Weekly
"One hesitates to use the term chick lit when referring to historical fiction, but perhaps it fits as Duffy explores themes of sexuality, theater, religious conversion, female oppression, and the struggle for power and recognition in a sixth-century historical setting with a surprisingly contemporary attitude." - Library Journal
"There's… intelligence and empathy under the energetic potboiler surface." - Kirkus Reviews
"A bravura performance: a witty, moving, sexy book that bursts with as much color and excitement as the city of Constantinople itself." - Financial Times
"Theodora is a best-of-all-worlds book - entertaining, gripping, thoughtful and dangerously enlightening. Stella Duffy, a versatile and gifted novelist, is uniquely suited to bringing Theodora to life. She clearly has great affection for her subject, but does not allow that to undercut her keen eye and pitch-perfect ear. An achievement that many writers will envy and few will equal." - Laura Lippman, New York Times bestselling author of The Most Dangerous Thing
This information about Theodora was first featured
in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.
Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.
Stella Duffy grew up in New Zealand and now lives in London. She is the award-winning author of seven literary novels, a detective series, eight plays, and more than forty short stories. You can check out her blog at www.stelladuffy.wordpress.com.
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