I probably love this more than it deserves so feel torn how I should rate it. Is this a deathless historical classic such as Gone With the Wind, Name of the Rose or I, Claudius? No. Neither its style nor an ability to place me in a foreign, alien mindset places it in five star territory. Is this book and are Bradshaw's works in general great favorites I out and out love? You betcha.
Charis, the heroine and narrator of the tale is arguably too modern in her outlook--but it doesn't stop me from loving this story--one of those great "comfort reads" because you can immerse yourself in the narrative and love the characters. Charis is a woman who disguises herself as a eunuch so she can study medicine in the Alexandria of the late Roman Empire in the 370s. Besides the appeal of her story, it's interesting to have a look at this period, one still cosmopolitan and rich in learning, but on the brink of a dark age.
I own and enjoy other Bradshaw novels, such as Hawk of May (Athurian), Island of Ghosts (Roman Britain) and The Wolf Hunt (Medieval France, but more historical fantasy than historical fiction).
