Customer Reviews

SELENE OF ALEXANDRIA

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"As she grew from a child to a young woman, Selene realized death was inexorable, but the urge to become a physician strengthened," writes Faith L. Justice in her historical novel, Selene of Alexandria. "Selene knew the main obstacle to her ambition was her father. No upper class man would willingly allow his daughter to engage in any profession."

Selene of Alexandria is pure fiction magic. Loosely basing her book on the life and times of feminist icon and philosopher Hypatia, Justice has created an enthralling story of a young, upper-class girl who wants nothing more than to become a physician. She must gain the sponsorship of the famous philosopher Hypatia to convince her father to let her study. Upper-class women didn't enter the professions; they became wives and mothers. Selene struggles not only against stereotypes, but also against the Christian city leaders. She is accused of witchcraft for practicing medicine, and her life is on the line. Can Selene overcome all obstacles to become one of the rare female physicians in Alexandria...and live to tell about it?

I couldn't put this book down. I love the way Justice mixed historic facts with her fictional character's lives, dreams, loves, and aspirations. I truly felt for Selene and rooted for her along the way. I fell in love with Orestes right alongside her, and hoped that their feelings would blossom into much more. I felt horror at the historically-accurate details of Christian persecution in Alexandria. Selene of Alexandria made me laugh and cry, hope and despair. I can't wait to see what else Faith L. Justice has in store for us.

by Jennifer Melville
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

"Selene of Alexandria", by Faith L. Justice, is an historical novel set in Alexandria during the fifth century. It concerns a young woman named Selene who wishes to defy her sex and her class by becoming a physician. With some effort, she eventually obtains her father's blessing and the support of another key character, Hypatia, the mathematician and philosopher who lived during this time. The book describes her efforts to achieve her dream of practising medicine, and her adventures as she interacts with various prominent historical characters of the period.

The premise of this book is a clever and effective one. Although it purports to tell the story of the fictional character Selene, the book is really about the historical characters around Hypatia. That is, the author uses the fictional Selene as a device to relate, in dramatic form, the story of Hypatia. The writing is good, and the characters are well developed and interesting. The character of Selene is made to be very likeable, if a bit unrealistically virtuous.

I give this book very high marks for historical fidelity. Among the many fictional works that chronicle the life and, mainly, the death of Hypatia, this one seem to stray the least from the known facts of Hypatias life (few though they be). While any work of fiction concerning the life of Hypatia must employ considerable interpolation, this book seems to have taken a fairly balanced view of events as we understand them. There is no obvious agenda here, as is so clearly the case in most other such works, other than the desire to relate a fascinating story. The use of the fictional character of Selene to effect this goal is successful and results in a very good story.

I particularly liked the portrayal of Orestes and Cyril in this book. Here, although Cyril is no saint - pun intended - neither is he portrayed as the caricature of pure evil that most authors, seeking to attack the church, make him out to be. Ultimately, this makes for a more believable representation of this important historical character. Almost nothing is known about the historical Orestes, but Justice creates quite a believable character here as well.

Highly recommended.

In her debut novel, Faith Justice opens a door on a world rarely visited by fiction writers. The scene is fifth-century Alexandria, where ascendant Christians are muscling out the Jews and pagans. Historical figures frame the plot - Orestes, the city's well-intentioned new governor, who collides with its manipulative new bishop Cyril, and the ill-fated Lady Philosopher Hypatia. But the heart of the book is the title character, Selene, an energetic and inquisitive young woman whose high birth entitles her to a life of leisure. Instead, she aims to become a physician, a millenium and a half before the concept becomes socially acceptable. Her struggles to become a healer propel the fast-paced plot as Selene confronts society's expectations and becomes entangled in the dangerous church-versus-empire battle for the soul of the city.

"Selene" is clearly the product of prodigious research into the characters and their times. Among its gems - the true story of the architect who carved his name prominently into the famous Pharos lighthouse, covering it with plaster he knew would wear away over time, revealing its creator's credit. Free from the dreaded "white wall" syndrome, the book paints richly colored portraits of its settings; from the most primitive to the most opulent. The sights, sounds and smells of the ancient city are brought vividly to life. The characters are fully realized and complicated - tragic flaws and all. I came to care about Selene and her family. As with all my favorite works, I regretted reaching the end, and wondered what happened next.

This book centers around Selene, daughter of a wealthy council member, living in Alexandria during a time of unrest. With a power-hungry bishop fighting against the fair-minded city prefect, the city has many political and religious riots and debates. Selene is breaking boundaries by persuing her dreams to become a physician and she gets caught up in all the turmoil and intrigue that goes on. I found the characters to be very believable, and of course Selene was my favorite. The pace was a bit choppy at times, skipping ahead a few months during times that seemed like they should be filled with action. I also wasn't expecting the few gory medical details, but they added to the reality of Selene's life. But I was definitely interested in all the events surrounding Selene, and found myself easily caught up in the drama. I enjoyed the realism of the situations, and the fact that though Selene was a tough, smart, and determined herione, not every detail in her life turned out perfect.

This book has everything... It was such a great story.

I LOVED Selene, she was such a great character. I'm really finding it hard to describe her. There were times when she was so strong, emotionally, and yet other times when she would let her emotions take over. She was so strong-willed and yet still understood her place in her world and did as she was supposed to do. I guess the best way I can think to describe her would be, she was a real woman.

I was very attached to Selene. She was just so real. While the story focused around Selene there were so many other things that were going on around her. Even when the story didn't focus on Selene she always managed to get herself right there in the middle of what was going on. There were times when I wanted to knock some sense into her, but I knew that she could handle whatever situations she was placed in.

The ending was great. While not everyone had a happy ending it was very realistic. There were a few unexpected twists that really added to the tension of the story, but they made for great reading.

The story was so great, it had everything. It was exciting, endearing, suspenseful, and emotional. There was a very tense felling around everything. The fight for power in the city, the fight for Selene to get what she wanted out of life, the fight of religion in the city. Everything was marked with tension.

This one did take me a while to read. I spent many hours with Selene, Hypatia, Phillip, Rebecca, and Orestes. I'm not sure why it took so long for me to read it, as it was a fairly fast-paced story.

Despite the time it took me to finish it was well worth the read. It was beautifully written, it was an intelligent story, and it was easy to escape into Selene's world.

The desire to heal is one that knows know gender. "Selene of Alexandria" is a tale of Selene, a woman who wants to stand against the cultural traditions of Christian Rome in the fifth century to become a physician. Under Hypatia of Alexandria, she may get her wish, be she finds that her road may not be an easy one as the cruelties and superstitions of the time may rise up and trump reason. "Selene of Alexandria" is an entertaining and enlightening novel of the classical era, and a fine read through and through.

Selene is a rich man's daughter living in Alexandria in 412 AD. Not content with the life of a noble Christian woman, she seeks knowledge and freedom. After meeting Lady Philosopher Hypatia and convincing her father to allow her to continue her studies, Selene enters the Museum as a student. She excels at her classes, much to the delight of her father and chagrin of the other elite living in Alexandria. Cyril, the new patriarch of the Alexandrian Church wants to convert Alexandria to complete Christianity. Standing in his way to domination is Prefect Orestes and the Lady Philosopher Hypatia. Also in the Patriarch's way, those who stand for reason. Selene must learn how to navigate this treacherous road.

When readers meet Selene, she is a gangly girl of fourteen. Her desire for knowledge distinguishes her from her peers, both male and female. Her journey to awareness can be heartbreaking, but with each misstep, Selene learns a new lesson. And her sincerity and good nature earn her the reader's love. I expected to see more of Hypatia, but her absence leaves the focus on Selene. The other secondary characters, such as Rebecca, Orstes and Antonius were wonderful.

The action is never ending, and the plot is full of SUPER twists and turns. Also included in this book are undercurrents of class relations, as well as a battle of Church versus State. These only increase the book's readability.

This book had me tearing up a lot. Here are some of my favorite parts.

"Philosophy is a rigorous study and a way of life which only a few are able to master."

"Stripped of my past, I have the opportunity to make my own future."

Pretty stellar effort. Makes you feel smarter and stays entertaining throughout.

Presents a strong female lead without ever coming off as pandering, and the writing it strong enough that you feel as if every character actually existed in real life, not just on the page.

- Cole

Selene is set in Alexandria in AD 412. It is the story of Selene, a young woman who wishes to break free from her father's expectations for her to marry and have children to become a physician and spend her life helping others in need. We follow her as she works to convince her father to let her study to be a physician and then see her struggle to be the only woman studying medicine at that time. She faces many dangers along the way, Alexandria was a dangerous place filled with many different people who would wish to do a woman healer harm.

This was a really well written book that I enjoyed reading. The plot was interesting and moved the book along well and the main character, Selene, was likable and given lots of time in the book to grow and mature. The part of the book that I was most impressed with was the amount of detail the author used to describe the characters and more importantly the city of Alexandria. I really felt like I was in this amazing city from the descriptions of all parts of Alexandria. It was obvious a lot of time and research went into writing this book and this made the book all that more enjoyable to read.

The book also introduces us to Hypatia, a famous philosopher in Alexandria. Hypatia's story is just as interesting as Selene's and I found myself wanting to find out more about this important woman from this time. I am so glad I read this book and got the chance to learn so much about Alexandria, Hypatia, and what a young woman faced growing up during this time.

There's nothing I'd rather do than to sit under a tree on a beautiful day and read a novel which transports me back in time. So I eagerly anticipated reading Selene of Alexandria by Faith Justice.

Admittedly, this was a hard book to get into. The author is a competent writer, but I initially had a difficult time bonding with the characters. As the story progressed, however, it became easier to relate to and bond with the characters.

Selene of Alexandria is a well-written, exquisitely-researched historical novel. It takes place in 412 AD and is the coming-of-age story of Selene, a teenager from a wealthy Christian family who yearns to be a physician. An early feminist, she has little interest in marriage.

Her family is not pleased, but eventually her father allows her to study with Hypatia, the renowned mathematician and philosopher of Alexandria. Because she is very intelligent and because she uses alternate means of healing, she gains many enemies and is eventually drawn into the rivalry between two candidates for Christian Patriarch: Cyril and Orestes, the Prefect.

Her childhood friend, Antonius, loves her, but she only has brotherly affection for him. She finds herself attracted to the Prefect, Orestes, although he is many years older. Other characters include Selene's brothers, her father, Rebecca, a Jewish servant, and many others. The climax of the story had me turning the pages very quickly.

A few criticisms... The cover was rather bland for a novel of this caliber. Also, I found some of the dialogue not consistent with the time period. And a warning: there is a sexually explicit scene in this book as well as a few near rape scenes which might be disturbing to younger readers. For these reasons, I would recommend this book to older teens and adults.

Selene of Alexandria is a well-written and well-researched novel. I recommend it to those who enjoy historical fiction.

Ellen Gable
award-winning author