A really interesting book, this novel delves into far more than the superficial plot. In the year 1270, a young lady decides she must go to Constantinople to search for her twin brother, She has a trade, medicine, trained by their father, a well known doctor and decides to go dressed as a man to make herself safer from those who would take advantage of a woman alone. In a winding plot, she discovers where her brother is imprisoned and proves that he is not really guilty of the crimes he is accused of, and, in the meantime, she meets the heads of state and religion and other important characters in the city. There is social analysis, good detail, good character description and analysis. For the history buff, this book is pure delight, as well as being appealing to the romantic side of the reader. An entertaining and informative read. ( )

It's always nice to see a good author show versatility, and Anne Perry has done that with this book. It has even more depth and substance than her popular detective series and greater results to be gained if the puzzles are worked out. While all the principles are trying to work out an idea of what is really happening, what has happened, and what is going to happen, kismet comes along and gives it all a new twist. In trying to save Constantinople from another sacking by the "Christian crusaders" on their way to Jerusalem, the Byzantines consider signing a truce and agreement with the Vatican and the Roman Catholic Pope, a move which would likely lead to the eastern church losing much of its self determination to the less openminded Roman Catholics. Rome uses many tactics to gain the upper hand, but many of the Byzantine residents are just as clever and resourceful in combating the supposed threat. This is a delicious look at the politics of the area in 1276, including lots of interesting detail and much religious philosophy of the era and much historical fact. The western world probably owes a great deal to the brave citizens of Constantinople, in culture, heritage, and freedom as well as the resulting history. ( )

Audio review.

Plucky Anna Zarides, trained in herbal medicine, arrives in Constantinople in 1272 in an attempt to discover who killed Bessarion Comnenos, the man her twin brother, Justinian, is falsely exiled for having murdered. In order to accomplish her task and to move freely about the city, she disguises herself as a physician eunuch and goes by the name of Anastasius Zarides.

Ever so slowly, she attempts to win the confidence of Bishop Constantine, her brother’s patron. At the same time she is winning the heart of Venetian Captain Giuliano Dandolo.

In an era when Byzantium seems besieged on all sides by scheming Venetians, ideological emissaries of the revolving door Roman Popes, and even barbarian hordes, Anna discovers her true powers.

Full of sub-plots, conspiracies, and treachery, this is just the kind of book that is delightful when read aloud to one, but might be less exciting to read as its religiosity is somewhat tiresome and its historicity is more convincing than its fiction. ( )

I am very familiar with Anne Perry from her two mystery series set in London and surrounds, back in the early part of the last century. Her ability to evoke a sense of place is laudable, and I thought that this book might be a good companion for a car trip I was taking, especially since this book is set in a time and place that fascinate me: Constantinople in the 1270's. I was in Istanbul 700 years after this story takes place, and the remnants of history, culture, religions, and war are still firmly planted in my memories.

The story follows Anna Lascaris who, disguised as Anastasius, a eunuch and physician comes to Constantinople in search of information that can help rescue her twin brother Justinian from shadow of crime (he's been accused of colluding in murder) and the banishment that resulted. Over the next decade, Anna establishes herself as a physician of skill, and works her way into the confidences and households of some of the most important homes in the city, including the emperor himself, and high figures in the Eastern Orthodox church. All the while, the division of faith between the church in Byzantium and the Roman Catholic Church in Rome. War, in the form of another crusade, hovers in the background. Anna struggles with her own feelings as a woman, as a physician, as a believer in the eastern church. And struggle it is, because there is a lot of secrecy and duplicity surrounding her. She is not the only one hiding something.

To be honest, the beauty of the story for me was in the city, the passions and powers that swept through it. Less interesting were the people (and there were a lot of characters in this tale). Anna was well-drawn, if not rather dull for a woman disguised as a eunuch, but some of the others, including a couple of main characters, were more of a caricature, particularly the mother/daughter duo of Zoe and Helena. I also found what little information that slipped through about herbal remedies interesting. Because of that and the setting captured me, I give this a 3 star. ( )

Anne Perry, renown for her Victorian mysteries, has taken a backwards turn in time and place and landed in Constantinople in the late 13th century. The book centers around Anastasius Zarides (Anna), a Venetian woman who disguises herself as a eunuch, and arrives in Constantinople ready to practice medicine and try to find the truth about a murder that has been blamed on her twin brother. At the same time as Anna is searching for the truth, the Eastern Orthodox (Byzantine) and Western Roman Churches are battling for supremacy.

This was a great plot idea and the background brought multiple possibilities to the table but this book just didn't work for me. With Anna as a eunuch, there really wasn't much of a way for her to interact with the other characters except in her capacity as a doctor and that was very flat and very boring very quickly. There were so many characters that were conspiring against this person and that person it was hard to keep things straight.

The descriptions of the location and surrounding/competing areas was just what was expected from Anne Perry, but the book was a disappointment. I feel that the many subplots detracted from the book. I could have had a much tighter structure which would have made the book easier to read and much more enjoyable, IMO. ( )