AustLit

'Rome, 382 AD. The Empire is fragile, the pagan beliefs that sustained it are fading. One man stirs up controversy like no other − Jerome, or St Jerome as he came to be known.

'When the Pontiff, Damasus I, commissions Jerome to translate the Bible into Latin, it is a political masterstroke. Highly intelligent and classically trained, Jerome was fluent in Latin, Greek, Hebrew and Aramaic. His Latin Vulgate displaces the many alternative biblical texts and is the quintessence of Christianity as a world religion, with Rome at its centre. But his work was not his only challenge.

'Jerome is assisted by a circle of aristocratic, educated Roman women who risk their lives in the pursuit of their ideals. Chief among them is the attractive young widow Paula, as devoted to him as she is to his cause. Rumours soon circulate as his enemies plot to dispose of him once and for all ...' (Publisher's blurb)