;)
Actress, Empress, Whore – Theodora by Stella Duffy
Posted by Donna Coonan in Reader Feedback
In Stella Duffy's ambitious new historical novel, she tells the story of Theodora, a fascinating woman who rose from actress and prostitute at the hippodrome to empress of Constantinople.
Read how Stella discovered Theodora in an empty church in Italy, and came to reimagine her life at www.guardian.co.uk.
Tom Holland is full of praise in his review in the Guardian: 'Duffy certainly makes the most of her material: not only is Theodora herself engagingly brought to life as a sassy, wise-cracking tart with a heart, but Constantinople, the great imperial capital whose crowds she woos and seduces, is also a pulsingly vivid presence . . . What she does get spot on, and to the immense benefit of her novel, is the life-changing potency of Christianity in the Byzantine world: the way in which it could indeed bring about spectacular prodigies of repentence. Theodora's own conversion is not Damascene, but something far more convincing: "no glorious epiphany," as Duffy nicely puts it, "but a slow erosion of her cynicism."'
'Duffy aims high … this fiction delivers colourful, compelling answers' – Boyd Tonkin, Independent
'Duffy's storytelling talents are given full rein as she recounts the epic adventures of Theodora's early life … Duffy proves herself equal to the grand scope of her tale' – Metro
Virago on Facebook
Virago on Twitter
;)
;)
;)
;)
;)
