The Secret History: A Novel of Empress Theodora

In sixth-century Constantinople, one woman, Theodora, defied every convention and all the odds, and rose from common theater tart to empress of a great kingdom—the most powerful woman the Roman Empire would ever know. The woman whose image was later immortalized in glittering mosaic was a scrappy, clever, conniving, flesh-and-blood woman full of sensuality and spirit whose real story is as surprising as any ever told …

After her father dies suddenly, Th...