Book cover of Julia Prima

Book description

"You should have trusted me. You should have given me a choice."
AD 370, Roman frontier province of Noricum. Staying faithful to the Roman gods in a Christian empire can be lethal. Half-divorced Julia Bacausa is condemned to an emotional desert and a forced marriage, Lucius Apulius barely clings onto…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Julia Prima as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Ms. Morton has created a brilliant ‘what if’ alternative history world in her Roma Nova series. She knows her stuff about the Romans and has taken the known facts of their history, turned it upside down, and provided us with some excellent entertainment.

Julia Prima is a prequel to the series itself (which is set in more-or-less contemporary times) This part of the saga goes back to the beginning – how Roma Nova came to be, and how the women became the leaders and organisers of an alternative empire.

Morton subtly changes history, the background details of the real past…

Several years ago, I came across a series of books set in Roma Nova, a surviving remnant of the Roman Empire. I was fascinated by Ms. Morton’s description of this (unfortunately non-existent) country and her casual references to Roman rites and traditions that had somehow survived to modern times. Julia Prima is the foundation story, set in the 4th century when the Roman Empire is crumbling at the edges. Ms. Morton brings the uncertainties of the times to vivid life. The conflicts between Christians and pagans are exploding, previously safe roads are plagued by bandits and through all this…

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