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I learned a lot about ancient Roman culture and the story was original for time travel, I thought. I am curious about the repercussions of the protagonist's changing of events.
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A.D. 62: Pompeii
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A twenty-first century woman is stranded in first century Pompeii when a time travel experiment goes awry; she is sold to a wealthy family as a house slave. This provides her with an intimate, upstairs/downstairs perspective on household life in ancient times. At first she does menial work, but she improves her situation by telling stories and making prophecies. As her influence grows, she wins the love of her master and his daughter and provokes the vengeful jealousy of his wife.
In this gentle fable about the power of stories to change people's lives, the heroine uses sources that include fairy tales and great works of literature to argue for women’s rights and the humanity of slaves, and to inspire herself and others to be resourceful, courageous and independent. Miranda's own life becomes as mythic as the stories she tells. In a narrative that is part adventure, part romance, and part fantasy, the heroine triumphs over adversity and makes a place for herself in the world of the past.
Visit the companion web site at www.rebecca-east.com to see ancient works of art that inspired the descriptions of characters and settings.
292 pages, Paperback
First published February 6,2003
This edition
- Format
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292 pages, Paperback
- Published
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February 7, 2003 by iUniverse
- ISBN
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9780595268825
- ASIN
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059526882X
- Language
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English
About the author
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Rebecca enjoys writing historical fantasy (so far, an enjoyable but expensive hobby).
Readers can download Rebecca's first historical fantasy at (pen name Rebecca East) for $.99 at https://amzn.com/dp/B000ZVQAGM/.
It's a tale of a stranded time traveler in Pompeii. One reviewer called it “Cinderella in Pompeii”; Rebecca prefers to think of it as “Upstairs/ Downstairs in Ancient Rome”. See https://www.rebeccawarnerauthor.net/p... for examples of ancient art that inspired the story.
She plans to change the title and cover, revise based on reader feedback, and reissue her novel within a few years. For now, she hopes this story may inspire reader interest for her next book.
Current work in progress is historical fantasy set in 13th century southern France. Brief description: The Lady of Mirefoix faces a crisis when the brutal husband she believed dead returns from the Crusades. She turns to magic to protect Mirefoix. But the spell never works as expected, and the souls she summons have desires of their own.
See www.rebeccawarnerauthor.net for information and updates.
Her interests include reading, nature walks, and Italian greyhounds. The first thing an Italian greyhound has to learn in her house is that nothing happens before Mommy has her coffee.
Rebecca loves to hear from readers!
[email protected]
Readers can download Rebecca's first historical fantasy at (pen name Rebecca East) for $.99 at https://amzn.com/dp/B000ZVQAGM/.
It's a tale of a stranded time traveler in Pompeii. One reviewer called it “Cinderella in Pompeii”; Rebecca prefers to think of it as “Upstairs/ Downstairs in Ancient Rome”. See https://www.rebeccawarnerauthor.net/p... for examples of ancient art that inspired the story.
She plans to change the title and cover, revise based on reader feedback, and reissue her novel within a few years. For now, she hopes this story may inspire reader interest for her next book.
Current work in progress is historical fantasy set in 13th century southern France. Brief description: The Lady of Mirefoix faces a crisis when the brutal husband she believed dead returns from the Crusades. She turns to magic to protect Mirefoix. But the spell never works as expected, and the souls she summons have desires of their own.
See www.rebeccawarnerauthor.net for information and updates.
Her interests include reading, nature walks, and Italian greyhounds. The first thing an Italian greyhound has to learn in her house is that nothing happens before Mommy has her coffee.
Rebecca loves to hear from readers!
[email protected]
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Community Reviews
Rating(4.1 / 5.0, 43 votes)
5 stars
18(42%)
4 stars
10(23%)
3 stars
15(35%)
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43 reviews All reviews
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Good book. Quick read too.
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The book was interesting. I'm glad I read it, but at times it seemed to be lacking. Maybe not exciting enough. The main character, Miranda, sent back into A.D. 62 gave a vivid detail of what it was like there at that time. I commend the writer for so much research.Even at the end of the book there is a special section telling where she did her research, titiled, "Brief Historical Notes for A.D.62:Pompeii". the author then tells what & who was true in this book which I found very refreshing.
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I finished Rebecca East’s novel “A.D. 62: Pompeii” and I, too, have added Marcus Tullius to my pantheon of Roman heroes. Since he did actually exist, I can hope that he was as noble, sensitive, astute, and talented as Rebecca’s portrayal. Since most of the novel occurred in the Tullius villa and focused on the daily lives of its residents, the novel provided a revealing window on the world of a Roman equestrian family - the operation of their household, their family, their social lives, and the gender and cultural roles each member played in the overall fabric of Roman society. I especially appreciated the fact that Rebecca respected and preserved each characters’ values and did not introduce some startling transformation as a result of the heroine sharing her “liberated” viewpoint of the 21st century.
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I thought the premise of this novel was fun and very promising: Miranda, a modern Classics scholar is transported back in time to the year A.D. 62 and must soon adapt to a new life once she realizes that returning home will not be as easy as planned. Unfortunately, it was not carried out as well as it could have been. Numerous times, Miranda the narrator repeats herself with information already given in previous chapters. I also felt that the book needed more dialogue; there were sections where the narrator tells us about conversations or speeches, and dialogue would have been much more interesting. I liked the story and was patient enough to finish the book, but I think that's mostly because Ancient Rome is already a great area of interest for me.
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The setting attracted me to this book but I was immediately sceptical with the time travel theme, although wanting to know if and how Miranda got back kept me going.
I enjoyed the setting and the events, particularly meeting Petronius. I was disappointed that Miranda did not save Marcus’s son because of her initial ignorance of the remedy. Maybe the author thought to uphold the myth Miranda surrounded herself with, infuriate the mistress or use it to blossom the romance between Miranda and Marcus.
I love their romance and the part Julia played in giving Miranda a standing. However, I did not like the fact that Miranda chose to stay something I could not find out until I got to the end. If I were reading print, I would have flipped the pages but could not as I read it on the kindle and did not know how to do this.
The author truly got me hooked and I slept at 3.00am to wake up at 6.00am for work.
I enjoyed the setting and the events, particularly meeting Petronius. I was disappointed that Miranda did not save Marcus’s son because of her initial ignorance of the remedy. Maybe the author thought to uphold the myth Miranda surrounded herself with, infuriate the mistress or use it to blossom the romance between Miranda and Marcus.
I love their romance and the part Julia played in giving Miranda a standing. However, I did not like the fact that Miranda chose to stay something I could not find out until I got to the end. If I were reading print, I would have flipped the pages but could not as I read it on the kindle and did not know how to do this.
The author truly got me hooked and I slept at 3.00am to wake up at 6.00am for work.
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I really enjoyed this unique "back-in-time" novel is written by an expert in Roman archaeology and an accomplished story teller as well. Under the pen name of Rebecca East, the author tells a fascinating story that kept me in suspense wondering what comes next. The heroine, Miranda, hears that a group of researchers have invented a procedure that can transport someone back in time. Miranda is an archaeologist specializing in ancient Rome and the ruins of Pompeii. She speaks Latin fluently and believes her knowledge of Classical Rome, especially Pompeii, would make her the ideal candidate. She volunteers. The researchers agree and decide to send her back to A.D. 62 to explore Pompeii. In case she has second thoughts, they implanted a device under her skin. She can press it any time, and the researchers will bring her back home.
Miranda drops into the Mediterranean Sea, and is hauled aboard by the startled fishermen. She surprises them with her unusual Latin accent, but she can converse with them. In a culture filled with slaves, and not knowing what else to do, the fishermen decide to sell her to a slave dealer. In the slave market, she makes friends with a Greek slave, Demetrius, who advises her to look unattractive to buyers she doesn't like and attractive to those she thinks she might like. Miranda and Demetrius both wind up purchased into the household of Marcus Tullius, a rich resident of a small village just outside of Pompeii.
The author adroitly develops the main characters, Miranda, Demetrius, their master Marcus Tullius, his wife Holoconia, and their two children fourteen-year-old Marcus and thirteen-year-old Tullia. Three other slaves play significant roles in the novel: Alexander, the household steward, Iris, a beautiful twenty-seven year old that Holoconia sent to her husband after Tullia was born and Holoconia wanted no more children, and Cnaeus, the cook. Julia Felix plays a major role late in the novel. East creates a tender interaction of Miranda and the other characters and brings in scenes of courage, love, loyalty, selflessness and selfishness, bravery and heroism. East's story would be interesting in any time period, but East's placing the story in first-century Italy, with the author’s knowledge of Roman history and archaeology, adds real charm to the story. Miranda is free to go home any time. At times, she thinks she should, but her eagerness to see more of the real Pompeii continually makes her postpone her return. Gradually, as she gets to know and love the people, especially Marcus Tullius, she gets more and more reluctant to return.
Rebecca East is the pen name of an established professor and archaeologist who is conversant with the excavations at Pompeii and has worked on a "dig." East has a website www.rebecca-east.com where the reader can see some of the ancient art that formed a background for the novel. Many names of the fictional characters were borrowed from real names of people and families that really lived in Pompeii.
Miranda drops into the Mediterranean Sea, and is hauled aboard by the startled fishermen. She surprises them with her unusual Latin accent, but she can converse with them. In a culture filled with slaves, and not knowing what else to do, the fishermen decide to sell her to a slave dealer. In the slave market, she makes friends with a Greek slave, Demetrius, who advises her to look unattractive to buyers she doesn't like and attractive to those she thinks she might like. Miranda and Demetrius both wind up purchased into the household of Marcus Tullius, a rich resident of a small village just outside of Pompeii.
The author adroitly develops the main characters, Miranda, Demetrius, their master Marcus Tullius, his wife Holoconia, and their two children fourteen-year-old Marcus and thirteen-year-old Tullia. Three other slaves play significant roles in the novel: Alexander, the household steward, Iris, a beautiful twenty-seven year old that Holoconia sent to her husband after Tullia was born and Holoconia wanted no more children, and Cnaeus, the cook. Julia Felix plays a major role late in the novel. East creates a tender interaction of Miranda and the other characters and brings in scenes of courage, love, loyalty, selflessness and selfishness, bravery and heroism. East's story would be interesting in any time period, but East's placing the story in first-century Italy, with the author’s knowledge of Roman history and archaeology, adds real charm to the story. Miranda is free to go home any time. At times, she thinks she should, but her eagerness to see more of the real Pompeii continually makes her postpone her return. Gradually, as she gets to know and love the people, especially Marcus Tullius, she gets more and more reluctant to return.
Rebecca East is the pen name of an established professor and archaeologist who is conversant with the excavations at Pompeii and has worked on a "dig." East has a website www.rebecca-east.com where the reader can see some of the ancient art that formed a background for the novel. Many names of the fictional characters were borrowed from real names of people and families that really lived in Pompeii.
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Good premise, but that is all.
The beginning- because it's very rushed- is surreal and Miranda's weakness doesn't help me liking the story. I find her too settled in her new life as a slave and her relationship with Marcus reminds me for a saying we have in my country relating to those women who are victims of domestic violence but are unable to leave their husbands because they love them, "The more you beat me, the more I love you".
As for the narrative, it is extremely repetitive. for instance I don't know how many times Miranda thinks of the unequal situation between her master and herself (not that she will take it into consideration in the end) but there are many more and everyone reading the book will find it easily. This slows the events and turns the reading into a dull exercise.
Such promise! It's a shame really...
The beginning- because it's very rushed- is surreal and Miranda's weakness doesn't help me liking the story. I find her too settled in her new life as a slave and her relationship with Marcus reminds me for a saying we have in my country relating to those women who are victims of domestic violence but are unable to leave their husbands because they love them, "The more you beat me, the more I love you".
As for the narrative, it is extremely repetitive. for instance I don't know how many times Miranda thinks of the unequal situation between her master and herself (not that she will take it into consideration in the end) but there are many more and everyone reading the book will find it easily. This slows the events and turns the reading into a dull exercise.
Such promise! It's a shame really...
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