Seven Kings of Rome

The Scent of Hyacinth weaves a romantic adventure around the legend of Numa Pompilius, Rome's second king, and a water nymph named Egeria. Tradition ran that Egeria was the mistress of wise King Numa, that he consorted with her in the secrecy of a sacred grove, and that the laws which he gave the Romans were inspired by communion with her divinity. Prima, the daughter of assassinated King Romulus, holds precariously onto the reins of power and survives the dangerous machinations of ambitious senators only by advancing her friend Numa Pompilius to the heights of government. Numa, whose training as a religious scholar intensifies his innate distaste for politics, decries the intrigues and power plays that accost him in Rome. With divine advice from his mistress, this gentle lawgiver brings an end to war and institutes the priesthood, augurs and vestals for the rough-edged Romans.

The Warrior's Dance weaves a gripping account of Rome's third king, Tullus Hostilius, who is celebrated in history as the bellicose leader who destroyed Rome's mother city, Alba Longa. In this rich, compelling look back at a time when history and myth intermingle, King Tullus is portrayed as a young demigod, impetuous, insolent, unhampered by scruples, and exposed to the temptations of tyranny. Trouble begins during the waning days of elderly King Numa, when Tullus and his restless young partisans go about decrying a Rome grown weak. In the springtime of their lives, they ridicule the piety and peace forced upon them by a doddering ruler and yearn to pursue the warrior's way. A new generation longs for action and glory, while fathers quake at the seditious talk of their sons. The Warrior's Dance is told by those who lived the breathtaking adventure of King Tullus' ascent to power. Their fates perforce are caught up in their hero's triumphs and snared by his ruinous descent into superstition and brutality. When the balance tips too far, the gods will demand their due.