The Daughter of Rome

Hunt (The Sisters of Corinth) sets this immersive tale of tragedy, faith, and renewal at the height of Nero’s reign over the Roman empire. Eighteen-year-old Calandra has no desire to marry. She's content to live with her sculptor father, Pericles, and spend her days making pottery and offering sacrifices to the Roman gods. When Pericles is commissioned to sculpt the emperor but is then blinded by a deadly fire that sweeps through the city, Calandra must complete the project herself. Stressed and struggling to keep the arrangement a secret, she looks to the gods for comfort, to no avail. Meanwhile, she grows closer with a group of Christians who care for her and her father in the fire’s aftermath. As more of her loved ones accept the new faith despite the emperor's efforts to scapegoat Christians for the fire, Calandra must decide what she believes and how far she’s willing to go to uphold it. Calandra’s relationship with her father serves as a powerful emotional through line, adding resonance to a fast-moving plot shaped by the religious and political upheavals roiling the empire. Both a propulsive narrative and a vivid window into a volatile historical period, this captivates. (Mar.)