- Hardcover: 384 pages
- Publisher: Orion (13 Jun 2007)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0752886606
- ISBN-13: 978-0752886602
- Product Dimensions: 23.8 x 15.8 x 4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 772,264 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
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REviews in: DAILY TELELGRAPH (14/07/07)
Product Description
Claudia has a privileged life. Niece of Rome's favoured warrior, she lives in luxury, surrounded by her family and tended by slaves. Gifted with second sight, her dreams tell her many things, from which gladiator will win in the Coliseum to the secret enemies who plot against the Emperor. When Claudia falls deeply in love with a charismatic soldier known as Pilate, she determines to win his heart, whatever the cost. Ignoring the warnings, she enchants Pilate and the pair are swiftly, blissfully, married. As wife to one of Rome's rising stars, Claudia is determined to shine. Wearing the finest Indian silks, bedecked in jewles, she is admired for her beauty, her lavish parties and her gift of the sight. Yet Claudia's dreams begin to trouble her, and the enchantment she used on Pilate comes with a price. Rome is built on powerful, treacherous alliances, and while Pilate's star continues to rise, shame and tragedy stalk Claudia's family. As a circle of betrayal and despair threatens to encompass her, Claudia realises her fate and future happiness is inextricably bound with a man who appears in her dreams, a man who wears a crown of thorns, a man she knows her husband must not condemn to death ... This wonderful, sweeping story brings to life Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate, as never before. Alive with gorgeous detail, it gives an enthralling new perspective on one of the most well-known stories of all time.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
As you can should be able to tell by the title, Claudia; Daughter of Rome by Antoinette May is a book about ancient Rome. It tells the story of Claudia, the wife of Pontius Pilate, during the time of Tiberius's reign. It's a book that's been very well researched; it feel very real, but thankfully isn't stooped in formalism like many historical novels are. It begins during Claudia's childhood and starts off very well. The details about religion are very interesting; I especially enjoyed Claudia's quest for her spirituality, moving away from the Roman gods to the cult of Isis. Claudia also has the sight; she has dreams and visions of the future. Unfortunately, the author seems to forget about them for long periods of time and only reintroduce her visions as a cheap plot devices later on.
The book goes slightly downhill as Claudia grows up. Claudia herself is not an interesting character, nor even a particulary well written character. Her personality is all over the place; Miss May seems to have planned her to be a serene, dreamy almost godly character, but she's also reckless and selfish. The author tries to raise her on a pedestal, but Claudia seems almost to resist. I never felt particulary attuned with her.
With so many similar books about ancient womanhood, this is, regretfully, another one that whinges on about the MC never having any control over her life. She complains and complains, but never lifts a finger to try and change her position. There's a pervading feeling of pitiful helplessness. When Claudia finally gets what she wants, she realises she never particulary wanted it. This is one of the reasons I disliked her.
It also picks up the other bad common factor of this genre. Tragedy. I should probably warn you that there isn't many characters left by the end of the book. They're slowly picked off one by one, as Claudia sobs into her pillow; Oh woe is me! The blurb hinted that this was supposed to be a book about an influential woman, but really it's just yet another about a helpless girl dragged behind by her destiny, not brave enough to face it herself.
It gets a little more interesting towards the end with Pilate and his wife stationed in Judea as Pilate commands the crucifiction of Jesus. Personally, I think if the author spent longer here than on Claudia's TERRIBLY tragic past, the book would have been a lot better. Instead, we have about one chapter and suddenly the novel ends sharply.
Don't get me wrong- I didn't hate this book. It was an interesting read; I read it in about two days. But there is so much that could have been done better. If the author had supplied us with a sympathetic main character, this could have been a brilliant book. Instead it's one that ends up supplying all the bad stereotypes of this genre. It gets three stars.
The book goes slightly downhill as Claudia grows up. Claudia herself is not an interesting character, nor even a particulary well written character. Her personality is all over the place; Miss May seems to have planned her to be a serene, dreamy almost godly character, but she's also reckless and selfish. The author tries to raise her on a pedestal, but Claudia seems almost to resist. I never felt particulary attuned with her.
With so many similar books about ancient womanhood, this is, regretfully, another one that whinges on about the MC never having any control over her life. She complains and complains, but never lifts a finger to try and change her position. There's a pervading feeling of pitiful helplessness. When Claudia finally gets what she wants, she realises she never particulary wanted it. This is one of the reasons I disliked her.
It also picks up the other bad common factor of this genre. Tragedy. I should probably warn you that there isn't many characters left by the end of the book. They're slowly picked off one by one, as Claudia sobs into her pillow; Oh woe is me! The blurb hinted that this was supposed to be a book about an influential woman, but really it's just yet another about a helpless girl dragged behind by her destiny, not brave enough to face it herself.
It gets a little more interesting towards the end with Pilate and his wife stationed in Judea as Pilate commands the crucifiction of Jesus. Personally, I think if the author spent longer here than on Claudia's TERRIBLY tragic past, the book would have been a lot better. Instead, we have about one chapter and suddenly the novel ends sharply.
Don't get me wrong- I didn't hate this book. It was an interesting read; I read it in about two days. But there is so much that could have been done better. If the author had supplied us with a sympathetic main character, this could have been a brilliant book. Instead it's one that ends up supplying all the bad stereotypes of this genre. It gets three stars.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
Claudia Procula (or Procles) was the wife of Pontius Pilate and accompanied him to Judea during his prefecture there (from 26 to 36 CE). Little verifiable fact is known about Pilate's wife and, despite this, Ms May has created a vibrant novel which succeeds in bring Claudia to life.
Pilate's wife is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew 27:19 : `When he was set down on the judgement seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have though nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.' (Holy Bible - KJV). This novel is set during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, and the history provides the frame for the fiction. The story of Claudia provides some insight into the lives of women of privilege as it does also of the intrigue and cruelty of Rome. Claudia herself is depicted as an interesting and at times fickle character capable of kindness but also of short-sighted impulsive actions. Her short-sighted impulsiveness is ironic, given her occasional prescience, but it does serve to make her more human.
Claudia`s marriage to Pilate, her infatuation with a gladiator, her brushes with Livia (mother of Tiberius) all make for interesting reading. While I was not always sympathetic to Claudia, I was fascinated by her life as depicted in this novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
Pilate's wife is mentioned in the Gospel of Matthew 27:19 : `When he was set down on the judgement seat, his wife sent unto him, saying, Have though nothing to do with that just man: for I have suffered many things this day in a dream because of him.' (Holy Bible - KJV). This novel is set during the reign of the Emperor Tiberius, and the history provides the frame for the fiction. The story of Claudia provides some insight into the lives of women of privilege as it does also of the intrigue and cruelty of Rome. Claudia herself is depicted as an interesting and at times fickle character capable of kindness but also of short-sighted impulsive actions. Her short-sighted impulsiveness is ironic, given her occasional prescience, but it does serve to make her more human.
Claudia`s marriage to Pilate, her infatuation with a gladiator, her brushes with Livia (mother of Tiberius) all make for interesting reading. While I was not always sympathetic to Claudia, I was fascinated by her life as depicted in this novel.
Jennifer Cameron-Smith
4 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
What a fantastic book - rich, absorbing, emotive, provoking!! I never wanted this book to end - I absolutely loved it. Based on the story of Pilate's wife, the book is full of Roman tragedy, love and betrayal including a whole host of characters that we love - Pilate, Jesus, Mary Magdalene. But the focal point of the book is of course Claudia and how she is trapped in amongst the characters and the unrest in Rome. Claudia is a fantsatically real character leading the reader to become completely immersed in her life and emotions. You sympathise with the sights that she sees and the helplessness that she feels in doing anything to stop them coming true. The book is a costant rollercoaster of emotion and tragedy that makes the book wonderfully unputdownable. The descriptions are very vivid and rich which brillianyly depicts ancient Rome, the characers are all fabulously portrayed and anyone that is at all interested in anything Roman or that loves historical ficton will absolutely adore this book. I cannot recommend this book highly enough! Please give this is a go!
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