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veronicafrance 's review for:
The Wedding Shroud - A Tale of Ancient Rome
by Elisabeth Storrs
What a pleasant surprise this book was! It's not a literary masterpiece and it certainly has its weaknesses, but it's a very engaging first novel that augurs well for the sequel. I liked the fact that it was about a relatively little-known period and people (the Etruscans). Storrs has clearly done meticulous research, but she doesn't beat you about the head with it. Handily, everything about her surroundings in Etruria is unfamiliar to the young Roman, Caecilia, and that gives Storrs a good excuse to describe them in vivid detail. The plot is sufficiently complex to maintain interest, even if it's a bit overwritten in places.
Caecilia does many stupid things, which seems to annoy some readers, but I found her believable. She is young, naive, surrounded by an alien culture, and very isolated, with no-one to guide her or talk things through with. She was a misfit at home, and even more so here, with many people actively resenting her. No wonder she makes mistakes.
Storrs reminds me rather of [a:Gillian Bradshaw|84803|Gillian Bradshaw|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1330729058p2/84803.jpg] in the way she weaves contemporary concerns into a historical novel without making them seem out of place. Her analysis of sexuality and the contrasting social position of women in Rome and Veii is fascinating and thought-provoking. I liked the cliff-hanger of an ending, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!
Caecilia does many stupid things, which seems to annoy some readers, but I found her believable. She is young, naive, surrounded by an alien culture, and very isolated, with no-one to guide her or talk things through with. She was a misfit at home, and even more so here, with many people actively resenting her. No wonder she makes mistakes.
Storrs reminds me rather of [a:Gillian Bradshaw|84803|Gillian Bradshaw|http://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1330729058p2/84803.jpg] in the way she weaves contemporary concerns into a historical novel without making them seem out of place. Her analysis of sexuality and the contrasting social position of women in Rome and Veii is fascinating and thought-provoking. I liked the cliff-hanger of an ending, and I'm looking forward to the sequel!