The Wedding Shroud

A Tale of Ancient Rome – Book 1

By Elisabeth Storrs

‘All the drama and sensuality expected of an historical romance, plus a sensitivity to the realities of life in a very different time and world…’
Ursula Le Guin

In 406 BC, to seal a tenuous truce, the young Roman Caecilia is wedded to Vel Mastarna, an Etruscan nobleman from Veii. Leaving her militaristic homeland, Caecilia is determined to remain true to Roman virtues while living among the sinful Etruscans. But, despite her best intentions, she is seduced by a culture which offers women education, independence, sexual freedom and an empowering religion. Enchanted by Veii, but terrified of losing ties to Rome, Caecilia performs rites to delay becoming a mother, thereby postponing true entanglement. Yet as she develops an unexpected love for Mastarna, she is torn between her birthplace and the city in which she now lives.

The Wedding Shroud is the first book in the Tales of Ancient Rome Saga and was judged runner-up in the 2012 Sharp Writ Books Award for general fiction. The second book in the saga, The Golden Dice, is now available. The third book, Call to Juno, will be released in April 2016.