From Publishers Weekly
Bradshaw ( Beekeeper's Daughter and Beacon at Alexandria ) creates a compelling fictional character, Demetrias. Wife and mother, well-born slave, she is the premier silk weaver working in fifth century Tyre, where life and commerce revolve around the precious purple dye that symbolizes the power of imperial Rome. When Demetrias is assigned to weave a cloak in the proscribed imperial color, but not of measurements to fit Emperor Theodosius II, she realizes that treachery is afoot, but refusal is not a slave's option. Her survival depends on devising a strategy to save her life and those of her family. The plot twists and turns through a diorama of actual events involving historical figures, notably Demetrias's encounter with the emperor's formidable sister, Pulcheria. Historical novels are stamped by both the writer and the backdrop of an era; Imperial Purple is doubly embossed with strength in a style that will appeal to readers of Robert Graves and Mary Renault. The author's historical afterword further illuminates the turbulent Byzantine era.
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From Library Journal
Again displaying her skill in utilizing fictional characters to illuminate historical figures, Bradshaw turns to the mid-5th century eastern Roman Empire. Demetrias, a state slave and silk weaver in Tyre, is ordered by her supervisor to weave secretly a purple cloak as part of a scheme to overthrow Emperor Theodosius II. Concerned and seeking protection for Demetrias, her fisherman-husband confides in Flavius Marcianus, agent of a rival faction who is visiting Tyre. The Emperor's representatives, suspicious of Demetrias, take her to Constantinople, pursued by her husband and son in their small boat. A way of life, individuals, and events are memorably evoked in this work that further enhances Bradshaw's reputation. Highly recommended.Ellen Kaye Stoppel, Drake Univ . Law Lib., Des Moines
Copyright 1988 Reed Business Information, Inc.
