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Audiobook editionPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
In a city of crumbling monuments and rival houses, desire can be as dangerous as ambition.
Nathan Gallizier’s The Sorceress of Rome takes you into medieval Rome, where great ruins stand among small houses and the Church holds great power. This historical romance brings together schemers and lovers in a city full of secrets, with danger close to passion.
Power, betrayal and fatal desire shape the tale’s dark promise. Ambition draws people toward rank, while love and longing can make them reckless. Gallizier’s rich, dramatic style gives these tensions room to grow, with strong feelings, bold turns of plot and choices that carry a cost.
What you’ll discover
- Rome in the shadows Enter a medieval city where old glory lies half buried among ruins and houses.
- The pull of power Explore a world of rival noble houses, powerful church authority and restless ambition.
- Desire with a cost Follow the tension between longing and power, where strong feelings can invite reckless choices.
- Fear and fascination Consider the sorceress figure, poised between the fear of danger and the attraction of mystery.
- Drama without restraint Enjoy rich description, openly expressed emotion and the bold plotting of old-fashioned historical romance.
Who will love it
You will love this book if you enjoy gothic atmosphere, doomed love stories, court intrigue and vivid old Rome, told in a rich, dramatic voice.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Rome waits for the world to end
- Benilo hides betrayal behind charm
- A rescue becomes a dangerous wager
- Grief draws Eckhardt toward a likeness
- Crescentius makes love a political weapon
- Real tenderness grows inside the deception
- The past holds the living captive
- Secret meetings reveal divided loyalties
Who’s who
- Eckhardt of MeissenA battle-worn Saxon margrave who commands the German army and cannot forget his dead wife Ginevra.
- BeniloThe Grand Chamberlain, a poet and schemer who serves the young king while plotting against him and craving Theodora.
- TheodoraThe pale queen of a luxurious pleasure court, descended from the notorious Marozia, who makes a proud wager.
- Otto the ThirdThe young German king and emperor who dreams of restoring ancient Rome as the capital of the world.
- Johannes CrescentiusThe stern Senator of Rome who holds Castel San Angelo and wants the city freed from German rule.
- StephaniaThe proud, beautiful wife of the Senator, who agrees to play a part in her husband's scheme.
- HeziloA wandering harper who seems to come from nowhere and carries a private grief and a secret purpose.
- Nilus of GaetaA gaunt hermit who preaches that the End of Time is near and advises troubled souls.
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The Sorceress of Rome
by Nathan Gallizier · 1907
A Saxon general saves a veiled woman from runaway horses in Rome, and a drunken wager sets a trap for him.
Medium level5–10 hours to read20 languages
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“Everything in death has its counterpart in life.”
In short
It is a sultry October day in Rome in the year 999. A monk in a gray habit slips through a hidden panel in the imperial palace and talks with the Grand Chamberlain about poison as calmly as men order supper.
The Sorceress of Rome at a glance
- Reading time
- About 8 h 45 min7 h fast, 10 h 30 min slow
- Length
- 125,500 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1907by Nathan Gallizier
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
Rome waits for the end of time
The story opens in 999, and the whole city believes the year 1000 will bring the end of the world. Gallizier makes this fear the air his characters breathe. Pilgrims pour into Rome from every land to confess their sins and die within the Church.
Rome itself is a ghost of its past. Barons have turned old temples and tombs into fortresses, and the Crescentii family holds Hadrian's tomb, called Castel San Angelo. The papal chair has been bought, bribed and murdered over for decades. A young German king, Otto the Third, has come south with a dream of making Rome the capital of the world again.
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Details
- First published
- 1907
- Language
- English
- Level
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Cite this edition
Gallizier, Nathan. The Sorceress of Rome. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sorceress-of-rome.
Gallizier, N. (2026). The sorceress of Rome. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sorceress-of-rome (Original work published 1907)
Gallizier, Nathan. The Sorceress of Rome. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sorceress-of-rome.
@book{gallizier2026sorceress,
author = {Gallizier, Nathan},
title = {The Sorceress of Rome},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-sorceress-of-rome},
note = {First published 1907}
}
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What is The Sorceress of Rome about?
It is a historical novel set in Rome in 999. A grieving German general, a young emperor, a Roman senator and a mysterious queen are drawn into love, rivalry and betrayal as the city fears the end of the world.
Who is the Sorceress of Rome?
The title points to the dangerous, beautiful woman at the center of the plot, a descendant of the infamous Marozia whose court and charms draw men toward ruin. The book keeps her story gripping to the end.
Is The Sorceress of Rome a true story?
It is fiction built on real history. Otto the Third, Crescentius, Pope Gregory the Fifth and Gerbert of Aurillac really lived, and the legends about Otto and Stephania come from medieval chronicles, which Gallizier wrote into a novel.
The author
Nathan Gallizier
1866–1927 · American historical novelist
Nathan Gallizier was an American novelist who lived from 1866 to 1927. He wrote historical fiction in the early twentieth century. His novels include The Hill of Venus, Under the Witches’ Moon, and The Sorceress of Rome. The Sorceress of Rome was published in 1907.
“Everything in death has its counterpart in life.”
More by Nathan Gallizier
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