It is no secret that I love to read and I'm having a blast with the BlogHer Book Club. However, I had a hard time reading Theodora: Actress, Empress, Whore by Stella Duffy. Historical fiction is not my favorite genre and I felt uncomfortable reading some of the themes in this book, especially those revolving around child labor & prostitution. In the back of my mind I could not get over the fact that I was reading fiction based on true events. Although I didn’t fully enjoy it, I did learn a lot about a character in history that is often forgotten or ignored.
Duffy introduces us to Theodora of Constantinople when she is working hard at becoming an actress and prostitute as a young girl. The book continues to follow Theodora as she becomes the empress of Rome and later on a respected figure in the Orthodox Church. What kept me reading this book were Theodora's extraordinary survival skills. Regardless of the struggles she faced she never gave up and always found a way to keep going.
At one point Theodora is betrayed by a man in her life. At this point in the book I was so heartbroken for her that I had to put the book down for a couple of days. I was pleasantly surprised when I retook the story because it’s not often that a woman in a book is strong and heroic beyond my imagination. I enjoyed the conclusion of the book more than the beginning and was glad to have read it and gain perspective on such an important part of history.
Please join me at the BlogHer Book Club page HERE for more discussions about this book.
This was a paid review for BlogHer Book Club but the opinions expressed are my own.
The moment I flip my calendar to November my brain says FALL! Ironically the weather doesn't say the same, but that's something I've gotten used to living in the south. It doesn't stop us from craving fall activities & foods. So immediately pumpkin makes an appearance and it's first solo this year was our favorite pumpkin bread discovered last year. Do yourself a favor and make it, it's to die for! The recipe can be found here: Pumpkin Bread a la Starbucks. Then we were going to a potluck and I decided to make mini bundt cakes with my new cool pan. I drizzled them with a quick vanilla glaze and these things disappeared from the buffet table! My daughter didn't get one so I'm planning on making them again this week- yummy! Happy Fall!!!
