The Emperor's Babe

The Emperor's Babe

“Lots of fun . . . like an episode of Sex and the City written by Ovid.”—Kirkus Reviews Bernardine Evaristo’s tale of forbidden love in bustling third-century London is an intoxicating cocktail of poetry, history, and fiction. Feisty, precocious Zuleika, a restless teenage bride of a rich Roman businessman, craves passion and excitement. She wanders through his villa, bored, or sneaks out to see her old friends, seeking an outlet for her creativity. Then she begins an affair with the emperor, Septimus Severus, remembered to history as the “African Emperor,” and she knows her life will never be the same. Streetwise, seductive, and lyrical, The Emperor’s Babe is a “glittering fiction” with a “heroine of ancient times for the modern age” (The Times). “The adventures of a sassy, sexy girl about town . . . Funny, engaging, and a daring evocation of the possible genesis of black British history.”—The Independent on Sunday “Smart, imaginative, and readable . . . A rich farrago of historical fact and outrageous fancy.”—The New York Times Book Review “Zuleika leads us on a riotous, racy whirl through Roman Londinium—while displaying her lyric gift throughout, and at last her heartbreak to the core, and her own embrace of doom. . . . a captivating tale in verse.”—Robert Fagles
Sign up to use

Reviews

Photo of Lou Smith
Lou Smith@lavlatte
4 stars
Feb 12, 2023
Photo of Cerys
Cerys@burntoutbookworm
2 stars
Dec 20, 2021
Photo of Cerys
Cerys@burntoutbookworm
2.5 stars
Dec 19, 2021
Photo of Isabel
Isabel @booklover89
3.5 stars
Aug 15, 2024
Photo of tash lee
tash lee@tashaalee
4 stars
Aug 26, 2023
Photo of Ana Hein
Ana Hein@anahein99
4 stars
Jan 5, 2023
Photo of Isobel
Isobel @isobel_1711
4 stars
Nov 1, 2022
Photo of Anna Berg
Anna Berg@annabergb
4 stars
Jul 18, 2022
Photo of Riley
Riley@coldeurydice
4 stars
Sep 11, 2021
Photo of Momo
Momo@novelallure
2 stars
Aug 25, 2021