Twilight Empress: A Novel of Imperial Rome
by Faith L. Justice
Publication Date: May 12, 2017
Raggedy Moon Books
eBook & Print; 392 Pages
Series: The Theodosian Women, Book 1
Genre: Fiction/Historical/Action & Adventure
Twilight Empress tells the little-known story of a remarkable woman—Galla Placidia, sister to one of the last Roman Emperors. Roman princess, Gothic captive and queen—Placidia does the unthinkable—she rules the failing Western Roman Empire—a life of ambition, power and intrigue she doesn’t seek, but can’t refuse. Her actions shape the face of Western Europe for centuries.
A woman as well as an Empress, Placidia suffers love, loss, and betrayal. Can her strength, tenacity and ambition help her survive and triumph over scheming generals, rebellious children, and Attila the Hun? Or will the Dark Ages creep closer and bring down the Empire?
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Faith L. Justice is a science geek and history junkie, which is reflected in her writing. Her short stories and poems have appeared in such publications as “The Copperfield Review”, “Beyond Science Fiction and Fantasy”, and the “Circles in the Hair” anthology. Faith has published in such venues as “Salon.com”, “Writer’s Digest”, “The Writer”, and “Bygone Days”. She’s an Associate Editor for “Space & Time Magazine”, a frequent contributor to “Strange Horizons”, and co-founded a writer’s workshop more years ago than she cares to admit.
To contact Faith, read her essays and interviews, or get a sneak preview of her historical novels, visit her website at www.faithljustice.com. You can also find her on Facebook, Twitter, and Goodreads.
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In this day and age, particularly in this political climate, we don’t seem to get to appreciate the ladies out there changing the world. I think we’ve learned that politics is still a very male, old boys club. To be a woman and to break barriers is amazing. But we also take advantage of the knowledge that women can run, they can have positions of power. Back in the day–and I mean, way back, women couldn’t run. They were essentially encouraged to marry well, run the household and bear children. The prospects for a woman were not the best. Even high born women had to endure limitations.
Our main character, Placedia, is fierce. There’s no getting around that. So if you like a strong woman, you’re going to love her. Granted, women weren’t really allowed to rule in their own right, but if it weren’t for her, Rome would have fallen apart. Even when captured, her strength and patience were legendary, in my opinion. Rather than planning an escape, she learned from the Goths and used this knowledge in life. She also gained their respect, married and forged a life there until her brother saw it as a political move by the Goths.
In a world where men dominate everything, she was a joy to read about and to learn about. It follows Placedia from being a young woman to her death; so you do learn what becomes of her and of her life. Though a fictional adaptation, one does get a sense and feeling of who Placedia really was. This one of those novels where I remember why I love historical fiction as much as I do. Rich and full of detail, but never boring, The Twilight Empress is an absolute delight to read and I can’t wait for the next in the series.
This is truly a sumptuous treat for bookworms and historical fiction lovers.
I’d give it ★★★★★ stars.
Additional Notes:
- I received a copy of this in exchange for my fair and honest review.
- I would recommend this to a friend. 100%!
Clarissa Reads It All. 
Thank you so much for the lovely review, Clarissa! If any of your readers have questions or comments, I’ll be happy to continue the conversation. The 5C was a fascinating time and Placidia a marvelous character. it was a pleasure writing about her.
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My pleasure, truly!
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