Warning: Reading Rufius may induce forbidden thoughts. Also laughter, wonderment, and a discombobulating sensation of time travel. Proceed with caution-but by all means, proceed!' Steven Saylor
In 4th century Alexandria, a poor orphan learns to scribe. Meanwhile Rufius, a rich Roman, tends the books in his care and yearns for the youth on the streets. It's a time of rampant bishops, mad heretics, and a city so ruled by passion it is set to consume itself along with the world's greatest library. As the poor boy and the rich Roman unite, hell almost literally breaks loose.
In this startlingly fine debut, Sarah Walton steps into the classic terrain of Mary Renault and Margeurite Yourcenar. Like them, she stirs a spectacular story of the Ancient World. Unlike them, her lead character is not one of history's heroes. For the first time in literature, a cinaedus steps front stage. Sexually, Ancient Rome ran by a different moral code. One thing firmly outlawed was the passive male. Exiled to 4th Century Alexandria, put in charge of books while zealots set to burn libraries, Rufius is only passive sexually. He is an irrepressible creation. Searching the streets for a youth that excites, he finds Aeson. Their love story transcends age, scruples, class barriers, and the historical record.
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Sarah Walton is an author, writing coach and founder of Soul Writing Intuitive Coaching. Her debut novel, Rufius was long-listed for the Polari First Book Prize. Her second novel, Sophia's Tale was written using her Soul Writing method and the process of writing it helped write her brain back to health after she sustained a brain injury, which caused language loss and writer's block. Sarah holds an MA in Digital and a PhD in Creative Writing. She advises governments and businesses on digital innovation and corporate storytelling. She is a Creative Writing Tutor on Hull University's Online MA Creative Writing. Sarah teaches her Soul Writing method, that combines meditation, free-writing and creative writing skills, at retreat centre, and coaches internationally. She believes that everyone has a unique story within them, a story their soul yearns to tell. Her mission is to help people and organisations create stories, lives and businesses aligned with their soul.