Fortunes Child, James Conroyd Martin
Fortunes Child, James Conroyd Martin
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Fortune's Child
A Novel of Empress Theodora

Author: James Conroyd Martin

Narrator: James Gillies

Unabridged: 14 hr 36 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 04/02/2021


Synopsis

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "A meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama."GRAND PRIZE ~ Best Book, Chanticleer International Book Awards Theodora: actress, prostitute, mistress, feminist. And Byzantine Empress of the Roman world. Stephen: handsome Syrian boy, wizard's apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress. How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography?From a very young age, Theodora, daughter of a circus bear keeper in Constantinople, sets her sights well above her station in life. Her exquisite beauty sets her apart on stages and in the eyes of men.Stephen, a Syrian lad of striking good looks, is sold by his parents to a Persian wizard, who teaches him a skill in languages that will serve him well.By the time Destiny brings them together in Antioch, Theodora has undergone heart-rending trials and a transformation, while Stephen has been sold again . . . and castrated.Discover the enduring bond that, however imperfect, prompts Theodora—as Empress—to request palace eunuch Stephen to write her biography.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Annette

Constantinople, 547. Theodora is 47 and she has a cancer. She asks once her confidante and eunuch Stephen to write her biography. Thus the story goes back in time revealing her humbling beginnings and her rise to power as one of the most powerful woman in Byzantine history. At the age of five, she lo......more

Goodreads review by Warren

Empress Theodora had one of the most remarkable rises in history. Daughter of a careless bear keeper, actress, mistress, and ultimately an empress who saved an empire by herself, the first of two novels brings to life a fascination woman and the historian who recorded her life. The author transporte......more