Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy

Title/Author: Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy
Publisher/Date published: Penguin Group USA, September 27th 2011
How I got this book: received it from the publisher through NetGalley

Goodreads summary: "Roman historian Procopius publicly praised Theodora of Constantinople for her piety-while secretly detailing her salacious stage act and maligning her as ruthless and power hungry. So who was this woman who rose from humble beginnings as a dancer to become the empress of Rome and a saint in the Orthodox Church? Award-winning novelist Stella Duffy vividly recreates the life and times of a woman who left her mark on one of the ancient world's most powerful empires. Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore is a sexy, captivating novel that resurrects an extraordinary, little-known figure from the dusty pages of history."

I'm always excited to learn about an influential historical figure that I had not heard of before and seriously, this title draws attention. You can't argue with that.

So, obviously, I don't know all the Roman emperors. In fact, I'd never heard of Justinian before and thus had never wondered about his wife, Theodora. But seriously, she is one interesting character! Or at least in the way Stella Duffy portrayed her!

I never knew there was a rule in that time that actresses coudln't marry. And while I knew about the stereotype of actresses having loose morals, I never knew they were sort of required to be a courtesan as well as perform in theater! And I never realised there were that many eunuchs! Or maybe that's just that we came across them a lot in this one?

ANYWAY, I really enjoyed this look into the society of ancient Rome and while Theodora is certainly not a character without serious flaws, I liked her. She did unexpected things and sometimes I wondered about her decisions, but this didn't detract from her appeal to me. I felt that she knew her talents and flaws herself and also knew how to use and hide them to her best benefit! And seriously, if you can make a man who doesn't show interest in anything other than work fall for you and make him change the law just so he can marry you? You are kind of awesome.

This was a slow read for me and some parts were a bit boring, and then there were parts that were a bit too vague in my opinion, especially about the 'growth' Theodora had. But maybe that's just the medstudent in me talking ;)

My rating: 3 stars