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In the first century Roman Empire, Charis, a young woman determined to become a doctor, flees from an arranged marriage, and, disguised as a eunuch, journeys to Alexandria to continue her studies

When Charis learns that her father has betrothed her to the hated Roman governor Festinus, she enlists the aid of her brother and flees to Alexandria. There, disguised as a eunuch, she begins to study Hippocratic medicine under the tutelage of a patient Jewish physician. The young woman excels as a healer and her fame spreads. Political intrigues force her to frontier outposts of the Roman Empire where she practices as an army doctor. She succeeds in maintaining her disguise until she is captured and held prisoner by the Goths during their uprising against the Romans. Bradshaw has superbly re-created the political, social, and intellectual climate of the 4th century A.D. and the attitudes towards woman and medicine in this excellent work for most public libraries. Joan Hinkemeyer, Englewood P.L., Col. Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.

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marriage and the resumption of her medical career. Steeped in well-researched historical detail and local color that recreates the last days of the Roman Empire in several regions of the antique world, this is an action-filled, if predictable romantic adventure by the author of In Winter's Shadow. (September 12) Copyright 1986 Cahners Business Information.