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The Purple Shroud: A Novel of Empress Theodora Paperback – September 25, 2012

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Stella Duffy (Author)
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4 out of 5 stars 11 customer reviews
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Product Details

  • Paperback: 416 pages
  • Publisher: Penguin Books; Reprint edition (September 25, 2012)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0143122258
  • ISBN-13: 978-0143122258
  • Product Dimensions: 5 x 0.7 x 7.8 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,046,434 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Top Customer Reviews

3.0 out of 5 starspurple shroud review
By rebecca stoneking on November 30, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition
"The Purple Shroud" by Stella Duff is the second part to a two part series of books about Theodora, the Empress of Rome during the 4th century. I would recommend reading the first one, "Theodora, Actress, Empress, Whore" first as there were a few times when I didn't really know what was going on or couldn't see the importance of what was happening. It isn't necessary, however, I could still follow the storyline. This novel has a LOT of history crammed into it. I needed to google a few things here and there because I am not really up on my Roman Empire knowledge. I took a World Civilization class in college once, but that didn't really cover it. Justinian is one of the last Emperors of Rome and Theodora was his Empress. She was really more of a co-ruler. She was not just there for breeding purposes, in fact, she couldn't have children. She fought for women's rights and looked out for the common people as well as the whores. She set up homes for former prostitutes and worked with establishing women into society as independent people, if possible.

Some of this book got a little boring because of my lack of knowledge. It became more than what was entertainment. The novel as a whole was good. I think I'm going to read the first book, too. I received this book for free from [...].
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5.0 out of 5 starsHail Theodora!
By Mary Lee Starnes on February 23, 2013
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I first learned of Empress Theodora when I was about 12 years old. What an amazing woman! I highly recommend this book!
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1.0 out of 5 starsJust a regular history book not a novel
By Gila Goldstein on October 13, 2012
Format: Kindle Edition Verified Purchase
I did not like this book.
Stoped reading it after 136 pages it was boring and I would have prefered reding a history book about this period instead .
Will not recommend it to my friends.
Gila
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5.0 out of 5 starsFive Stars
By Stephen Ricks on October 22, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Impressive!
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4.0 out of 5 starsEnjoyed it.
By larrys2k on August 11, 2014
Format: Hardcover Verified Purchase
Good read
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4.0 out of 5 starsIs There a Real-Life Woman under the Purple?
By Beverly Diehl on January 31, 2014
Format: Kindle Edition
3.5 stars. There aren't a lot of books set in the sixth century, period, let alone one set in what we'd now call the Middle East but was then considered part of Rome, Byzantium/Constantinople. Nor books where the heroine is past her youth. Realizing, now, that the author had written an earlier book about Empress Theodora's earlier life, but since I haven't yet read that, I come to this one as if it was a stand-alone.

For the most part, I liked it very much, and it did work as a stand-alone. For some readers, the portrayal of a heroine as unfaithful to a husband she loved is a deal-breaker; IMO, it made her more human and flawed. Sometimes she was a sympathetic character; other times she did some really cruel things, or turned her back while they were done on her behalf. She would've been a loyal friend but a deadly enemy. The depiction of the Nika riots, the construction of the Hagia Sophia church, and especially the bubonic plague and dealing with the dead bodies... all horrifying and very real.

Other parts felt more like telling than showing; while most of it was told from Theodora's POV, there were occasionally slips into other characters' POV's. That's something that slowed me at the beginning but either they went away or I got so wrapped up in the tale they became invisible.

My biggest gripe is there wasn't any one thing I could identify that Theodora wanted and was trying to get throughout the book. It's more of a historical biography, hitting all the known facts in the real woman's life, with some embellishment. There were many little goals, but no big overriding one. I read on because I wanted to discover what happened next in Theodora's life, and I don't mind character-driven novels, but if you prefer strong plots, you might not care for this.Read more ›
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