We at THP will forever be proponents of historical fiction. There is so much that we can learn about the past, especially when the true story gets lost or overshadowed like that of the Sabine women. Alysandra Dutton’s debut, The Stolen Women, takes us back to before the founding of the ancient Roman Empire.
In it, we meet Safinia, a young warrior who’s content to focus on her training and her beloved sisters. But when the women from her city go missing, one of which is her former lover, she’s determined to find out what happened to them and to bring them home.
This historical novel is cutting, painfully real, and impossible to put down. Here are three reasons why you should read The Stolen Women by Alysandra Dutton.
Book Overview: The Stolen Women
Content warnings: death, rape, sexual assault and abuse, slavery, attempted suicide, gore, graphic violence, bodies, forced captivity, kidnapping, hunting, warfare, stabbing, fires, serious injuries, slurs, swearing, vomiting, weapons (Please read at your discretion!)
Summary: Safinia is fine to focus on her training as a warrior, providing for her sisters, and minding her own business. She feels no great need to meddle in anyone else’s, until women in her town, including her former lover, begin disappearing. Quietly, at first, but disappearing just the same. All of the missing women have vanished from powerful households, but their formidable fathers are in utter denial, claiming their daughters are off on trips, sure to be back shortly, with perfectly reasonable explanations for their absences.
Dissatisfied with the half-hearted attempts to hand wave away the alarming and mysterious cases of the vanishing women, Safinia takes matters into her own hands, embarking on a journey to a neighboring village in search of answers or at the very least clues that might unearth threads she can begin to pull at. Along the way, she meets an unlikely yet helpful search partner, a historian who calls himself Livy. But despite his eerie sense of knowledge, Safinia is unable to uncover to missing women, thwarted more often than not by the girls’ fathers themselves. As war with Rome looms on the horizon, Safinia must face the reality that the only one she can trust to bring them home is herself.
The Vivid Imagery
We want to start off by appreciating just how much research and detail went into writing The Stolen Women. Because of the author’s years of research and care, we felt completely transported to the time before Ancient Rome was founded. Set in Cures, an ancient Sabine city, this book shows us the ways of life from over two millennia ago. From the food and clothing to the architecture and roads, we were fully immersed in the story. We haven’t been able to take our minds off it since.
Safinia’s Strength
Another reason why you should read The Stolen Women is for the main character. Safinia is scrappy, stubborn, and strong. She has been the head of her household ever since her parents died. And Safinia acts as the protector of the outskirts, using what she knows to best look after the young women and girls around her. She also trains them on how to defend themselves and wield a spear, creating a safe haven in a patriarchal world that’s determined to drain these women of all they have.
Reclaiming Parts Of History
Finally, The Stolen Women takes a bold risk in capturing a story that was mostly lost to the chunk of history known as the Roman Empire. And the risk absolutely paid off. It not only highlights the women, who were often overlooked and underestimated, but it also makes them the major drivers of the plot. When Safinia finally learns the true scheme behind the disappearances, she tries to save others from the same fate. We haven’t felt this bittersweet about an open ending in so long.
Alysandra Dutton’s debut with The Stolen Women is unlike any other we’ve read. It reminds us of our true power and dares to reclaim a part of history that was mostly lost to the patriarchy.
The Stolen Women by Alysandra Dutton comes out October 27th, and you can order a copy of it here!
What do you think of Alysandra Dutton’s new historical novel? Will you be reading The Stolen Women? Let us know on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!
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