—Kate Quinn
THE MOTHER
WITHIN the house of Julius Polybius, the remains of thirteen skeletons were found—one of whom was a baby cradled in its mother’s womb. The mother also clutched a bag full of coins and was decked out in jewels. Graffiti on the walls of the house asks for votes for Julius Polybius. Inside the house, a ring was found inscribed with the name Julius Phillipus, as was a mural on the wall. Given the campaigns for Polybius and that historians have named the house after him, I concluded that Polybius was descended of a freedman and was an aspiring politician—although we decided to make him a praetor, he could have also been a duumviir.
According to the DNA tests there were two older men who died in the house and were not related—we will probably never know for certain who actually died within the house walls. It is unclear whether both Polybius and Phillipus were in the house (or if Phillipus was even living) at the time of the eruption, so I left him out of my story, and instead had the second older male be a servant.
However, the DNA revealed that several were related subjects, which led me to the conclusion that this was a family with several slaves. During the testing, it was found that two of the skeletons suffered from minor cases of spina bifida—one a twelve-year-old boy, and the other Julilla. It was likely so minor they were not aware of it. Decima’s testing revealed that she was likely ill quite often.
It is not clear how the people within the home died, but a vial was found in the hand of one of the skeletons—a male leaning against the wall. There is conflicting evidence as to what the vial held. Some have said it was poison, others say it was just wine or water. For purposes in this story—and wishing to give Julilla a strong and fitting end—I made it poison.
The prayer whispered at the end is a line from Apuleius: I approached the confines of death, and having trod on the threshold of Proserpine, I returned therefrom, being borne through all the elements. At midnight I saw the sun shining with its brilliant light; and I approached the presence of the Gods beneath, and the Gods of heaven, and stood near, and worshipped them.
Within the household was found a statue of Apollo, mythological murals, and a painted lararium, which was used to worship the Lares, or domestic divinities. In the painted mural you see the snake agathodaemon (protector of the hearth) and the genius, protector of the head of the household. A pet turtle’s remains were found within the home, and an excavation done on the courtyard showed that the family had figs and other trees/plants growing there.
The way I had our family placed, is the way in which the bodies were found. While doing research for this story, one of the parts I struggled with the most was the placement. Why would three of them be in the other room? Looking at the house, it appears the rooms were connected by a door—why wouldn’t they just walk through? Using research and a liberal amount of creative license, I recreated a version of events that took place at the House of Julius Polybius, and I hope that in living through them, we can memorialize their lives and give them the peace their last moments certainly did not contain.
—E. Knight
THE WHORE
UP to this point in my career, I’ve written about ancient queens. My heroine in Lily of the Nile is Cleopatra’s daughter, a messianic Egyptian princess who looks to Isis to save her dynasty. So I wasn’t surprised when my fellow authors looked to me to provide a spiritual element in this novel. However, I’m sure that I surprised them by insisting I was going to do it through the eyes of two lowly prostitutes.
Sex work was entirely normalized and legal in the Roman world, but the people involved in the trade were classified as infamia and treated shabbily. However, I was fascinated by a note about Emperor Vespasian’s ruling on prostitution in Thomas A. J. McGinn’s work on Prostitution, Sexuality and the Law in Ancient Rome that formed a bit of a loophole. Allegedly, slaves sold with the express condition that they not be used in prostitution would be freed if they were so used.
That knowledge, combined with graffiti in Pompeii describing two tavern whores, inspired the characters of Prima and Capella. It helped to know that such tavern girls might have once belonged to Empress Poppaea Sabina, who is thought to have been born and raised in Pompeii. And though the empress is commonly thought of as a scheming strumpet, the historian Josephus presents a very different picture of her, describing her as deeply religious woman.
That made her an ideal candidate for Capella’s former mistress, and, of course, the prominence of the Temple of Isis in the ruins of Pompeii made that the obvious choice for a narrative about salvation in an era before Christian dominance. Though Egyptian in origin, Isis was thoroughly embraced by the Roman world at the time of the disaster in Pompeii. And the henotheistic cult—with its adoption of Egyptian spirit bodies—provided a framework for thinking about the soul that has evolved throughout religious history to the modern day.
As for Pansa, he is based on a real figure, and his family history in Pompeii is grounded in fact. What became of him though, we don’t know. As for the deaths of the refugees in my story, I based them on the plaster casts found in what is now known as the Garden of the Fugitives, and I like to think the figure straining to rise on his arms is Sabinus. We’re told that after the eruption, the emperor wished two former consuls to coordinate relief for the refugees; it made sense that Kate Quinn’s Senator Marcus Norbanus should be one of them.
Pompeii was an embodiment of the Roman dream, a touchstone of human striving, which is part of why we are still haunted by the disaster to this day. So my challenge in this story was to offer a redemptive arc while showing the disaster from both inside the doomed city and from the outside, in the aftermath. That’s why I chose two sisters, connected in spirit and heart. And, of course, I gave Capella a present tense, first person narrative so as to leave ambiguity over whether her story was real or simply the way Prima, in her guilt, hoped and imagined it to be.
—Stephanie Dray
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
STEPHANIE DRAY is a multi-published, award-winning author of historical women’s fiction and fantasy set in the ancient world. Her critically acclaimed historical Nile series about Cleopatra’s daughter has been translated into more than six different languages, was nominated for a RITA Award, and won the Golden Leaf. Her focus on Ptolemaic Egypt and Augustan Age Rome has given her a unique perspective on the consequences of Egypt's ancient clash with Rome, both in terms of the still-extant tensions between East and West as well as the worldwide decline of female-oriented religion. Before she wrote novels, Stephanie was a lawyer, a game designer, and a teacher. Learn more at: StephanieDray.com.
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BEN KANE worked as a veterinarian for sixteen years, but his love of ancient history and historical fiction drew him to write fast-paced novels about Roman soldiers, generals, and gladiators. Irish by nationality but UK-based, he is the author of seven books, the last five of which have been Sunday Times top ten bestsellers. Ben's books have been translated into ten languages. In 2013, Ben walked the length of Hadrian’s Wall with two other authors, for charity; he did so in full Roman military kit, including hobnailed boots. He repeated the madness in 2014, over 130 miles in Italy. Over $50,000 has been raised with these two efforts. Visit Ben at: http://www.benkane.net
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E. KNIGHT is an award-winning, indie national best-selling author of historical fiction. Under the name Eliza Knight, she writes historical romance and time-travel. Her debut historical fiction novel, My Lady Viper, has received critical acclaim and was nominated for the Historical Novel Society 2015 Annual Indie Award. She regularly presents on writing panels and was named Romance Writers of America’s 2013 PRO Mentor of the Year. Eliza lives in Maryland atop a small mountain with a knight, three princesses, and a very naughty puppy. For more information, visit Eliza at www.elizaknight.com.
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MICHELLE MORAN was born in Southern California. After atten
ding Pomona College, she earned a Master’s Degree from the Claremont Graduate University. During her six years as a public high school teacher, Moran used her summers to travel around the world, and it was her experiences as a volunteer on archaeological digs that inspired her to write historical fiction. She is the internationally bestselling author of the novels Nefertiti, The Heretic Queen, Cleopatra’s Daughter, Madame Tussaud, and The Second Empress, which have been translated into more than twenty languages. Visit her online at MichelleMoran.com.
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SOPHIE PERINOT is the author of the acclaimed debut, The Sister Queens, which weaves the story of medieval sisters Marguerite and Eleanor of Provence who became queens of France and England respectively. Perinot has both a BA in History and a law degree. A long-time member of the Historical Novel Society, she has attended all of the group’s North American Conferences, serving as a panelist at the most recent. When she is not visiting corners of the past, Sophie lives in Great Falls, Virginia. Learn more at: www.SophiePerinot.com.
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KATE QUINN is the national bestselling author of the Empress of Rome novels, which have been variously translated into thirteen different languages. She first got hooked on Roman history while watching I, Claudius at the age of seven, and wrote her first book during her freshman year in college, retreating from a Boston winter into ancient Rome. She and her husband now live in Maryland with an imperious black dog named Caesar. Learn more at http://www.katequinnauthor.com.
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VICKY ALVEAR SHECTER is the award-winning author of the young adult novel, Cleopatra’s Moon (Arthur A. Levine Books/Scholastic, 2011), based on the life of Cleopatra's only daughter. She is also the author of two biographies for kids on Alexander the Great and Cleopatra. The Los Angeles Times called Cleopatra’s Moon—set in Rome and Egypt—“magical” and “impressive.” Publisher’s Weekly said it was “fascinating” and “highly memorable.” Her upcoming young adult novel, Curses and Smoke: A Novel of Pompeii (Arthur A. Levine/Scholastic), releases June 2014. She has two other upcoming books for younger readers, Anubis Speaks! and Hades Speaks! Vicky is a docent at the Michael C. Carlos Museum of Antiquities at Emory University in Atlanta. Visit Vicky at: http://www.vickyalvearshecter.com
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A Day of Fire
“Introduction” copyright © 2014 by Michelle Moran
“The Son” copyright © 2014 by Vicky Alvear Shecter
“The Heiress” copyright © 2014 by Sophie Perinot
“The Soldier” copyright © 2014 by Ben Kane
“The Senator” copyright © 2014 by Kate Quinn
“The Mother” copyright © 2014 by E. Knight
“The Whore” copyright © 2014 by Stephanie Dray
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book, or portion thereof—including the introduction or authors’ notes—in any form. The digital version is licensed for your personal enjoyment only and may not be re-sold or given away to other people. Thank you for respecting the authors’ work and copyrights.
This is a work of fiction. Any references to historical events, real people, or real locales are used fictitiously. Other names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to actual events or locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.
Cover Design and Interior format by The Killion Group
http://thekilliongroupinc.com
Roman Eagle logo by Erebus-Art.com.
ISBN-10: 0990324567
ISBN-13: 978-0-9903245-6-0
Table of Contents
A DAY OF FIRE A Novel of Pompeii
INTRODUCTION
PART ONE: The Son
PART TWO: The Heiress
PART THREE: The Soldier
PART FOUR: The Senator
PART FIVE: The Mother
PART SIX: The Whore
EPILOGUE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
NOTES FROM THE AUTHORS
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
Copyright
A Day of Fire: a novel of Pompeii Page 32
