Böcker av Lorraine Blundell

WINNER GOLD AWARDLiterary TitanONE EMPEROR'S DREAM. ONE GLADIATOR'S JUSTICEDiscover the secret of Nero's spectacular Domus Aurea golden palace, only now being revealed. What is its connection to the Colosseum? And what is its link with the vibrant city of Pompeii, its gladiators and its total destruction caused by the eruption of Vesuvius?The amphitheatre has its own secrets even more spectacular.79 AD. In the reign of Vespasian in the very heart of Rome, a huge amphitheatre rose that would awe the empire. It became known as the Colosseum. Born from the extravagance of the Domus Aurea in Nero's reign and the Great Fire of Rome, its construction was paid for by spoils won in the Judaean war. Over the years, the blood of thousands seeped into the arena's sand. And the people loved it! This was the time of the gladiators as seen through the eyes of Famullus, Rome's most famous fresco painter.Quintus, a young man born free in Rome sharpens his skills as a Retiarius by fighting in arenas such as Pompeii, becoming caught up in the eruption of Vesuvius. Haunted by his mother's murder years before, he is determined to find the killer and take a life for a life. He finds himself in the inaugural Games of Rome's deadly Colosseum where he must fight for survival and the woman who loves him.Executions, classical re-enactments, beast attacks, gladiatrices and staged naval battles are held within the arena and the crowd is ecstatic. The Colosseum has it all.Beautifully crafted and soundly historically detailed, this is a gripping novel about retribution, love and bravery.

Deadly secrets and fatal decisions, Marie Antoinette thought she took her secrets to the grave. She was wrong.Was Marie Antoinette, Queen of France, executed during the French Revolution for her worst crime or was there another that would have shaken the very foundations of the monarchy if it had become known? What was it?Colourful characters that filled Marie's life spill from the novel's pages. The royal perfumer, candle-maker, hairdresser, fashion stylist, painter, jeweller and even her pastry maker were all part of an extravagant, indulgent lifestyle.Go with her from Austria to the stunning royal estate of Versailles with the fairy-tale Trianon. Continue on to the filthy degradation of the prisons of revolutionary Paris and the faded glory of the Tuileries Palace, and share the lives, hopes and fears of real prisoners awaiting death in the feared Conciergerie.In the shadow of the guillotine stand other actors in this drama, Madame Tussaud maker of death masks, Charlotte Corday the Angel of Death, Marat, Robespierre and more. The gruesome tricoteuses knit as the heads drop and Sanson operates his Lady Guillotine. Discover the disgust of the stinking, overflowing graveyards and burial quarry which have now become part of the catacombs of Paris.

68 AD. A madman rules Rome's empire while its empress, born in Pompeii, tries desperately to restrain him as he plummets out of control. This is her story. A woman of strength and character, her personality is complex. Endearing and generous, she could also be cruel and calculating.In Pompeii, vicious gladiatorial riots explode. A serial poisoner is at work in the shadows, as Rome burns and Christians are used as flaming human torches to light the palace gardens.'Empress of Pompeii' reveals a rich tapestry of life, from the splendour of Rome's royal palace and Nero's golden house to Pompeii's sordid, murderous laneways, the extravagant villas of the wealthy and the eruption of Vesuvius.Nero rules Rome in a time of fear and turmoil. Desperately, the empress, Poppaea, attempts to protect Pompeii and save her young son's life. Nero's praetorian prefect, Tigellinus, cradles her head in his arms as she lies dying in a pool of blood on the marble palace floor, murdered by Nero in a fit of rage. After her death he orders the murder of her son and the boy's life hangs in the balance. He was later found dead. Or was he? Does the answer lie in Pompeii?2022 Edition

POMPEII: My Love Must Wait 'It cannot be,' she replied, her breath coming in short gasps. 'My love must wait, but somewhere, we will meet again.' Pompeii. 78 AD. A distinctive, oddly-shaped building looms menacingly out of the night, squatting on the narrow laneway's paving stones. The Lupanar Grande is the largest Pompeii brothel and a place reeking of body odour, stale perfume, urine and sex. The prostitutes are the dregs of society, infames, but they still seek a way to find love and friendship. Selene, a free-born prostitute from Naples is new to Pompeii. She is an ambitious, enticingly pretty girl, determined to replace the famous courtesan, Prima. She will be drawn into a Lupanar blackmail ring. Velina, a slave, is bought by the brothel's leno and taken to the Lupanar with her best friend, Alexa. As slaves, they are limited to its interior and the outside footpath where they solicit for business. They sleep in their cells and are forbidden to stray from the brothel. Their leno, Servius, takes all they earn. Flora, shrewd and intelligent, lives in her own tiny, two room house two doors from the Lupanar. Behind her cerulean blue front door, she sees everything through her large front window. She will save girls from prostitution. Hester, a shy, gentle girl belongs to a small group known as Christianos. Its meeting place is located opposite the Lupanar, with unfortunate consequences. Lucius Attilius is addicted to gambling and women. It leads him into the Pompeii arena, where few gladiators die but many suffer severe injuries. He will find a love so strong that it overcomes even the sordid Lupanar. Their lives intertwine as Vesuvius erupts. What will happen to the survivors?

WINNER SILVER AWARDLiterary Titan Pass into the town of Herculaneum and feel the ancient volcanic paving stones beneath your feet as you tread the narrow streets. Gaze up at the ruined buildings, many with their top storeys still there, and stop by the ornate street fountains as residents did once to drink. Who were these people? And who was the man imprisoned in the town's locked room with the barred window?Lucius Calpurnius Piso, is master of the huge, exquisite villa perched on the clifftop on the fringe of town. He is wealthy and the guardian of a hidden horde of the Emperor's gold.Alexus, Calpurnius' friend, is a Greek trader of antiquities. What has he found that is so special it's worth a fortune?Frontius, master fresco painter is close to retirement and in poverty after his wife walked out with all of their savings.Livia, a sharp-tongued, wealthy matron is married to one of the most disliked men in Herculaneum. She is in dispute with Frontius about his fee.Prima, the most beautiful and famous courtesan in Herculaneum and Pompeii, has an unusual secret.Cassia, a pleasant, chatty woman is the owner of the town's only luxury hotel. She is liked by all. Who would seek to do her damage?Their fates become tangled together as Vesuvius erupts. Who will live and who will die? And what will happen to the survivors?

AWARD WINNER: Literary Titan 'A riveting fictional story.'THE LIFE AND DEATH OF POPPAEA (POPPY) EMPRESS OF ROME30 A.D. The Roman Empire approaches the peak of its power and human life is of so little value, it can be snuffed out like a candle's flame. A girl known as Poppy is born to a minor patrician family in the relatively insignificant city of Pompeii. She becomes a stunningly beautiful and intelligent young woman, but one day her life is changed forever.The victim of an act of indescribable evil, Poppy is filled with a white, hot anger that demands revenge. Intent on destroying those who have caused her such pain, she rises higher and higher in influence, until she is the most powerful and wealthy woman in the whole of the Roman Empire. She becomes Empress of Rome.Fiercely loyal to those few she trusts and to the city where she was born, Poppy's friendship with her childhood friend, Farzana, anchors and supports her. This is the story of the real Empress barely touched on by the ancient Roman historians. In an age of murder, greed and obsessive ambition, she clings to her love for Pompeii and is loved in return by its people. As Pompeii's destruction by Vesuvius grows ever closer, she risks losing everything. But there is one secret that can never be destroyed.

In 47 BC, Cleopatra, young and ruthlessly ambitious, has been reinstated on the throne of Egypt, having captivated the ageing Roman general, Julius Caesar. Her half-sister, Arsinoe, is taken to Rome as a prisoner under sentence of execution after being removed from the Egyptian throne. Cleopatra, confident of her hold over Caesar and the security of Egypt, schemes to gain ultimate power over the Roman Empire for herself and their son. Cleopatra's victims grow as she murders not only one of her younger brothers but anyone else who stands in her way. Caesar invites her to Rome, a hotbed of intrigue and political turmoil, where she creates enemies amongst some of Rome's most influential senators. There is one opponent, however, who will be more than a match for her.And what of Arsinoe, the other queen? Why wasn't she executed as custom decreed after Caesar's Egyptian Triumph? The result of this decision will shake Cleopatra's world to its very core, as Arsinoe fights for survival and to regain her rightful place as queen of Egypt.

POMPEII: DEATH COMES CALLING 'They said there were ghosts here'79 A.D. Painters, perfumers, prostitutes and priestesses - Pompeii has them all and more. Life for some is noisy, colourful and sometimes deadly dangerous. For others, it is filled with luxury, affluence and the fulfilment of their every desire. Flavia, the arrogant and beautiful daughter of wealthy parents schemes to avoid an arranged marriage.Vinicius, a vicious, paid killer roams the city streets by night murdering while its citizens sleep.Aelianus, a young slave far from home is sold in the marketplace to Pompeii's gladiator lanista.Aurelia, Pompeii's first female career fresco painter feuds with a jealous male competitor. Isidora, jilted by her lover in Egypt, arrives in Pompeii to reunite with her brother. Senator Lucius Diomedes, grieving for his dead wife, seeks meaning from life.Their destinies become intertwined in a deadly dance as a mountain of fire changes everything forever in a cruel lottery of life or death. What happens afterwards to those who escape will be beyond anything they could ever imagine.