Daughter of Pompeii

About the Book

AWARD WINNER: Literary Titan

 'A riveting fictional story.'

THE LIFE AND DEATH OF POPPAEA (POPPY) EMPRESS OF ROME

30 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.

About the Author

Lorraine Blundell (Parsons) was born in Brisbane, Australia. She lives in Melbourne and has a daughter, Jenni, and a son, Steve. Lorraine Graduated from the University of Queensland with a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in English and History. She holds a teaching qualification in Drama from Trinity College, London.

She trained as a classical singer at the Queensland State Conservatorium of Music, Brisbane. Spanning that period she sang professionally on television as a solo vocalist, regularly performing on channels BTQ7 and QTQ9 Brisbane as well as nationally on HSV7 Melbourne.

Lorraine is an experienced performer in amateur musical theatre productions. Her interests are singing, ancient history and archaeology.