GRAND PRIZE 2019 Best Book, Chanticleer International Book Awards

"A meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama." ~KIRKUS REVIEWS

"Amazing history—I felt like I was there." —Lisa Wingate, bestselling author of Before We Were Yours

Theodora: actress, prostitute, mistress. And Byzantine Empress of the civilized world.

Stephen: handsome Syrian boy, wizard's apprentice, palace eunuch. And Secretary to the Empress.

How does this unlikely pair become such allies that one day Empress Theodora asks Stephen to write her biography?

From a very young age, Theodora, daughter of a circus bearkeeper in Constantinople, sets her sights well above her station in life. Her exquisite beauty sets her apart on stages and in the eyes of men.

Stephen, a Syrian lad of striking good looks, is sold by his parents to a Persian wizard, who teaches him a skill in languages that will serve him well.

By the time Destiny brings them together in Antioch, Theodora has undergone heartrending trials and a transformation, while Stephen has been sold again . . . and castrated.

Discover the enduring bond that, however imperfect, prompts Theodora—as Empress—to request palace eunuch Stephen to write her biography.

KIRKUS REVIEWS: "A historical novel set in sixth-century Constantinople charts the extraordinary ascent of a woman from poverty to royal power. Martin's command of the historical period~not just the chief political events, but also the nuances of its cultural mores~is masterful. Furthermore, he conjoins that scholarly rigor with novelistic excitement~the entire tale is intelligently conveyed with great emotional poignancy. [It is] a meticulously researched historical account presented in the form of a thrilling political drama."

"James Conroyd Martin not only unfurls the vast canvas of history, but he paints the deeply personal side of the men and women who lived it. His settings and characters come to life in meticulously researched detail. I felt like I was there." —Lisa Wingate, New York Times Bestselling Author of Before We Were Yours

"Fortune's Child is a treasure for historical fiction fans—richly detailed, immersive, and heart-pounding. Martin paints a vivid and satisfying portrait of one of history's most remarkable women." -Olivia Hawker, bestselling author of The Ragged Edge of Night

"Martin's 6th-century Byzantium hums with life, and his polished prose captures the fashions, the food, the social strata, the religious variety—like the stylites, who live atop pillars—and the cultural diversity of an empire that stretches around the Mediterranean." ~Misty Urban, Historical Novel Society