Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore [Hardcover]

... but like some of the other reviewers here I found this really disappointing and quite a lifeless read. Theodora seems like a character just made for fiction but Duffy doesn't manage to make her live. The greater part of this book is 'told' in page after page of authorial exposition rather than being 'shown' to us in dramatic scenes and dialogue, something which always makes me feel like I'm being held at arm's length from the book and the story it's trying to tell. That combined with an almost palpable self-consciousness that this is 'historical' fiction made the entire project feel artificial and very thin.

Theodora comes to life far more in Robert Graves' old novel Count Belisarius (Penguin Classics) and in the main extant source Procopius' The Secret History (Penguin Classics).

I really wanted to enjoy this book and was looking forward to a modern and female reinterpretation of a figure who might have been mis-represented by hostile chroniclers, but sadly this book managed, for me, to both dilute the wayward, transgressive Theodora of Procopius and yet not substitute anything more lifelike in its stead - very definately a missed opportunity.

I think the most important thing in any book where the main character is also the title of the novel; you have to make that character reader friendly, why are you going to get through 300+ pages if you don't like the star of the book. Theodora definitely is the star of `Theodora' (that sounds a bit wrong, you get what I mean). From the death of her father at five killed by his own favourite bear of his trade, which we see through flashbacks of a kind, and the fact as the plainer and less talented in dancing and singing sister of three Theodora has a slight underdog status from the opening of the book and you feel for her, you side with her, you like her.

However do not let first impressions fool you as Theodora is determined, I want to say gutsy but it's a bit of a cliché, and what she lacks in some talents she makes up with more, her mind and her body tend to win people over though not necessarily in that order. We follow her journey from the dark underbelly of Constantinople and its prostitution, through the theatre and onwards (I don't want to give too much away) as she breaks the mould to become the woman no one would believe she could. There is a twist in the middle as she follows her heart rather than her head and exposes another side to her we have not seen before, you like her more.

The book isn't just about Theodora though and there are a few characters that deserve there own mention too because characters are something that Stella Duffy does exceptionally well. There is the tough loving teacher and eunuch Menander, the butter wouldn't melt (though watch out) Chrysomallo, the dashing Hecebolus and the delightfully wicked Euphemia. For me though a fowl mouthed dwarf and `Madame', Sophia, who becomes Theodora's pimp and best friend was possibly my favourite character and almost stole the show from Theodora herself.

What about the historical aspect? Well, it may surprise you to find out but I wasn't born during the Byzantine period in history, so I have no real inkling how spot on the novel is. My mother is a classist though, and has been reading the book in advance, and says it brings it fully to life and I would agree with her. I did have a little wobble with the first chapter as Duffy explains a lot of the history and sets the seen. Hwever,Constantinople comes to life on the page, you can smell the backstreets, hear the voices and the stage shows almost play out before your eyes they have a genuine atmosphere. In fact I would have liked a bit more of that phase in Theodora's life as I wanted to go off and explore it further. As the book progresses the heat of the holy desert of Alexandria sears through the pages and you do really feel you are with our heroine in the various settings of her journey.

This is a fictional biography inspired by the tempestuous life of Byzantine empress Theodora. The story starts with Theodora's training as a child dancer and follows her from her difficult childhood to her success as an actress and her marriage to Justinian. Sadly, the story ends there and the book only covers the 'actress' and 'whore' part of the title, which is a shame as her reign as an empress was one of the most significant and adventurous times of Byzantine history.

Byzantine empress Theodora was one the most influential women in history, a remarkable woman whose fascinating life is the ideal subject for a historical novel. Sadly, this historical novel doesn't do its heroine justice. The novel is not gripping at all, as it is written like a boring documentary, with long tedious narratives, followed by short simplistic dialogues.

The characters are not believable or likable which makes the reader unable to sympathise with them or care about what happens to them. Especially Theodora is underdeveloped, one-dimensional and just plain boring. Duffy's Theodora is a heartless slut, whose only concern is to survive. She is presented as a ruthless whore who treats all her relationships with men as prostitution, including her relationship with Justinian, and only has romantic feelings for her fictional female sexual partners.

The greatest lost opportunity is the lack of atmosphere. Byzantium is the ideal backdrop for a novel as it combined the culture, images, sounds, and smells of both the West and the East. Sadly, the Byzantium of this book is as colourless and boring as everything else in the novel; even the extended descriptions cannot add to the atmosphere as they are soulless as the descriptions of a bad documentary.

I don't normally expect a historical novel to be completely accurate, as I realize that it is fiction and not history. However, there are so many inaccuracies and sloppy research behind this story, that it does not make any sense even to someone familiar with the history. Furthermore, what I found disturbing is the attempt to legitimise this 'fictional' account of Theodora's time with a map and an extended bibliography.

This novel is also published as a paperback; Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore