Claudia

Claudia has a privileged life. Niece of Rome's favoured warrior, she lives in luxury, surrounded by her family and tended by slaves. Gifted with second sight, her dreams tell her many things, from which gladiator will win the battle in the Coliseum to the secret enemies who plot against the Emperor. When Claudia falls deeply in love with a charismatic soldier known as Pilate, she determines to win his heart, whatever the cost. Ignoring the warnings, she enchants Pilate with a love-spell and the pair are swiftly, blissfully, married. As wife to one of Rome's rising stars, Claudia is determined to shine. Wearing the finest of Indian silks, bedecked in sapphires and rubies, she is admired and talked about, for her beauty, for her lavish parties and for her gift of the sight. Yet Claudia's dreams begin to trouble her, and the enchantment she used on Pilate comes with a price of its own. Rome is built on powerful, treacherous alliances, and while Pilate's star continues to rise, shame and tragedy stalk Claudia's family. As a circle of betrayal and despair threatens to encompass her, Claudia realises her fate and future happiness is inextricably bound with a man who appears in her dreams, a man who wears a crown of thorns, a man she knows her husband must not condemn to death ... This wonderful, sweeping story brings to life Claudia, wife of Pontius Pilate, as never before. Alive with gorgeous detail, it gives an enthralling new perspective on one of the most well-known stories of all time.