Theodora and the Emperor

I bought this to replace a book entitled "The Woman" which is probably out of print, which I'd had for more than 40 years until it disintegrated. The copy I received shows its age in yellowed pages and obvious shelf wear. However, it's otherwise in good condition. It arrived over-packaged in packaging difficult to open.

Originally published in 1952 (the year I was born), this historical novel appears to stick pretty close to the facts; and, despite the romance-like summation on the back cover, is actually a serious book (with an index!). The author says this: "All characters in this narrative are taken from the historical record. That applies to such minor figures as Porphyrius the charioteer and the blind dog of the Hippodrome. The events are actual and the incidents taken from sources of the time. Conversations between two persons have been invented for the most part, while based upon known particulars or viewpoints. Communications, letters, and episodes in the court and Hippodrome come from the record established by such scholars as J. B. Bury." The back cover of the book, however, seems to be advertising a Hollywood costume epic: THE HARLOT EMPRESS Theodora-the eerie beauty whose name stands in history beside Helen of Troy and Cleopatra. The daughter of a circus performer, a footloose vagabond and harlot, whose fierce ambition drove her from man to man until she finally married Justianian, one of the greatest emperors of the ancient world. THE PEASANT KING Peter Sabbatius-the weak, indecisive son of a Macedonian peasant who lived to become Justinian the Great, emperor of Byzantium. The shy, lonely scholar who secretly dreamed of uniting the whole world under one church over which he alone would rule supreme. Behind them lay a dying Rome-ahead of them a fantastic age of Byzantine splendor. THEODORA AND THE EMPEROR The magnificent, true story of the shepherd boy and the circus girl who forged the mighty empire of Byzantium from the ruins of barbarian-ravaged Rome. Half the fun, for me, was mentally casting Hollywood legends in all the major roles.