this was a great book. it is a fictional story about ovid, the roman poet. there was a lot of references to greek and roman stories. i felt pretty smart when i caught the references. i did however read the book with a copy of the metamorphoses close at hand.

Acting like Anne shirley of Green Gables my best friend stole this book from her father's collection and gave it to me to read at the age of just eleven since i was the faster reader among us
when i read this book i could hardly comprehend what it was saying but my elder bro saw me through and i think its one of the unique novels about love but in a more old fashioned and romantic manner that i enjoyed so very well.

It fills in the gaps during Ovid's banishment due to the Art of Love and gives more on the story of "what if Medea had survived?" It is a gorgeous story.

Now, this is something truly special. Here we find Ovid suspended between a princess and a witch. Historical novel, allegory, fairy tale, erotic sorcery — and so much more. Sublimation accomplished: the ancient stories of gods and demigods, a genius and the muse that enthralls him; transformations of all kinds, spun into words by Ovid, reconstituted over millennia through all the myriad forms of man's imaginings into images, drama, music, and verse. And here, in this novel, reconstituted once more into a tale of romance, betrayal, obsession and loss.
Ovid famously mused that the cause of his exile from Rome was "carmen et error", a poem and a mistake. Here, Jane Alison sets out to uncover the mystery behind that statement as well as the mysterious disappearance of his poem "Medea". To accomplish all that required her to conjure up whole: Ovid's muse! And what a muse this is! Xenia is surely one of the most intriguing characters I've encountered between the covers of a book in a very long time. In sensuous prose, Alison spins a yarn worthy of the great poet himself.
Altogether, a charming companion piece for anyone engaged in reading the Metamorphoses.
Highly recommended!