Valentine by Jamieson Wolf

[reviews_and_ramblings]

I thought a lot before writing about this book. I bought it without thinking cause an M/M romance setting during the Roman empire is something I rarely find. An historical romance, and moreover one in a setting I like very much.

Unfortunately the story is really short, 40 pages, and it's mostly spent in Valentine's bedroom and cab in the forest, so we have little change to see the interaction with society and custom of past era.

Valentine is a cleric, a "son" of God Lupercus who joins couple in marriage against the edict of Imperor Claudius who banned marriages. Asterius is a roman soldier sent to capture Valentine, and instead he falls in love for this young priest. Valentine is a man of lust: love and passion are one in his mind, and he is a very physical man. What it left me perplexed and the reason why I had to think a lot before writing my comment, is that the interaction between the two is very "crude" and physic, with a lot of sexual exploit. Usually in an historical setting I'm used to read a more chaste language. But then this is a roman age, and all we now that Romans were not chaste at all... 

And second I have a question for my Flist historian lovers: it's the second time I found the use of tea in an medieval or pre-medieval european setting... am I wrong or the use of tea in Europe is post medieval?

In the preface of the book, Jamieson Wolf tell use the real story of Valentine (really interesting) and specify that his story is only loosely based on the real one.

http://www.cobblestone-press.com/catalog/books/valentinejw.htm

Waiting Reading List:

http://www.librarything.com/catalog_bottom.php?tag=waiting+reading+list&view=elisa.rolle

Comments

[erastes.livejournal.com]

The first European to personally encounter tea and write about it was the Portuguese Jesuit Father Jasper de Cruz in 1560

http://www.stashtea.com/facts.htm

It seems strange that the Romans didn't adopt it, seeing as how many trade links they would have had

[elisa-rolle.livejournal.com]

Since Bloch says usually MiddleAges ends in 1492, your comment confirm my thought. But you are right, it's strange that Romans didn't use it... but with all the Romans ruin around here and also Pompei, I think that, if they used tea, there would be remains to confirm it.

Elisa