New read: Stealing Athena, by Karen Essex

While my Latin students were finishing their quiz this morning I downloaded a new historical novel, Stealing Athena. From the library's description of it I gathered that it's about Lady Elgin (as in Elgin marbles) and Aspasia, the mistress of Pericles. There's always initial skepticism when I come across a juxtaposing-time-periods kind of novel, but they are mostly very enjoyable in the end. A taste:

"I want you to behave meekly, and not at all like yourself,"Alkibiades said, dragging me by the arm at a pace faster than my tall platform shoes would allow me to walk. "If Perikles sees what you are truly like, he will promptly rescind any offer to help us." (48)

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