Elisabeth Storrs Historical Novels
Ancient Roman Historical Fiction
The Death of Tarpeia The tales of famous Roman women such as Lucretia and Virginia serve to reinforce the stereotypes of the ‘matron’ and the ‘virgin’ as exemplars of Roman virtues. Both these women died tragically: one defending her family’s honour by suiciding, the other murdered by her father for the same purpose. Their deaths were seen as catalysts for… read more
‘Tarchon pointed to the eagle as it soared into the stillness. ‘An eagle brought a sign to Tanaquil that her husband would be King of Rome.’ Caecilia refused to look at the bird, not wanting to hear another of Tarchon’s tales, especially about an Etruscan woman who became a Roman queen.’ The Wedding Shroud As can be seen from the… read more
Does this picture look familiar? No, it’s not Lucretia (Dying for Rome) but this woman’s story is depressingly similar to that of the tragic Roman matron who was raped by an Etruscan prince. She is Virginia, whose death, just like Lucretia’s, was the catalyst for significant change in Rome. The image is deceptive, though, because the man stabbing her is… read more
The women of the early Roman Republic were definitely second class citizens (see Damn Whores or God’s Police). It is interesting, though, that two of them, Lucretia and Virginia, were catalysts for significant changes in early Roman history. While the existence of these women is debatable, their legends have been passed down through the ages as examples of the Roman… read more
One of the main themes of my book is the exploration of the lives of women in the classical period of C5th and 4th BCE through the characters of a Roman girl, Greek slave, Cretan courtesan and Etruscan matron. So what was the status and role of these women in classical times? In both Greece and Rome they were chattels… read more
As well as the ability to interpret the future from lightning bolts, the Etruscans also observed the flight of birds for the purposes of divination. The process of interpreting the patterns of flight was known as taking the auspices (literally ‘looking at birds’). As was the case with understanding lightning portents, the sector of the sky where a bird flew… read more
The ancient world has always held a fascination for me. It must be in my genes because one of my fondest memories is that of my father telling me stories about the Greek gods. As a kid, I also found a book in our house that had been handed down from generation to generation within my family entitled The Myths… read more
‘There was drama to his ministry. When he marked the sacred boundaries with his lituus, carried the patera of water around the altar, she could almost see the lines that divided holy from profane appear.’ The Wedding Shroud To me a violent storm instils fascination and fear. Science tells me what causes it but tell that to my dog who… read more
I have two obsessions – writing and ancient history. Luckily I was able to combine both while researching and writing my novel, The Wedding Shroud. The novel is set in Etruria, a civilisation that existed in Italy from archaic times and was situated in the area we now know of as Tuscany, Umbria and Lazio but whose influence spread across… read more
