tAnna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett is about Anna Comnena her fathers first born, and his chosen successor to one day rule the Byzantium empire. The unexpected birth of her brother John doesn't make her anxious or unsettled. The "barbarians" from foreign lands who think only a son should ascend to power don't make her anxious or unsettled either. Anna is dismissive of them and so is her father and his trusted advisor, Anna's grandmother. The grandmother is a manipulative woman who uses Anna to gain power, but as Anna matures her arrogance and intelligence threaten her grandmother and she turns to John to gain power. John then overheard Anna and her teacher Simon talking of how Anna had tried to kill him when he was young. John told his father and Anna was stripped of her dreams of power, and they were given to John. When Anna's father returns from a journey to foreign lands he falls ill and soon dies. John then sends Anna and her Mother to two different small villages in the mountains for trying to kill him again. tDuring Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett there is some parts that are historically accurate and inaccurate. An accurate event is how the marriages were usually arranged so that both the families benefit from it. Another accurate event is when Anna's father was gone a lot to fight the Turks from trying to invade. A third accurate event is when Anna's father came back from one of the expeditions, got ill and died because disease was common during that time. An inaccurate event might of been how Anna just let her slave Sophia go. Another inaccurate event might of been how John sent Anna and his Mother away, and took all the power away from his grandmother. In the book Anna of Byzantium there is a lot of parts that are historically accurate and inaccurate.tI really like Anna of Byzantium because it is really informative and interesting. The conflict between Anna vs her grandmother, and Anna and Anna's mom vs John really made me interested about what they could of done different. Anna and Anna's moms conflict with John was that John was basically controlled by his grandmother. Anna's grandmother didn't like Anna's mom so they didn't listen to anything she said. Because of this conflict Anna and Anna's mom tried to kill John but failed. Anna vs her grandmother was a conflict because Anna could see that her grandmother was trying to manipulate her and get to power, but Anna saw through it. A part that I really didn't like was when they were throwing the feast for Anna's dad when he returned from fighting the Turks. He brought Anna a parrot, and other things, and while John was holding the parrot it bit him and drew blood so he demanded it be killed and the servants killed it. Anna of Byzantium is really informative and very interesting. tPeople may want to read this book because the detail the author put into the book. They might also want to read this book because the historical accuracy. During this book the author used many historical facts like the disease that killed Anna's father or how he was always gone fighting the invading Turks. The author also used a great amount of detail in showing the reader the tension between everyone in this book.
tIn the book Anna of Byzantium by Tracy Barrett Anna Comnenus is a young girl that has the heir to her father’s throne who is the emperor of Byzantium. She is supposed to marry a man named Constantine Ducas so the Ducas and Comnenus family can come together. She has a younger sister named Maria and eventually a younger brother named John. Anna’s grandma tries to tell Anna’s father how to run the empire and Anna’s mother and grandmother don’t get along. Anna’s grandmother begins teaching Anna what she’ll need to know when she becomes empress which makes Anna’s mother upset. Anna grows up to hate John, her younger brother and while their father is away at battle he gets on the family’s bad side until he comes back. Anna threatens John and then John ends up telling their father who decides to make John his heir to the thrown instead. After their father dies from sickness, Anna’s mother wants John dead; her own son. She comes to Anna to tell her, but Anna wants to kill him instead, but when her teacher finds out he tells so that Anna won’t be put to death. Before Anna could slip the poison in John’s drink she is arrested. Anna and her mother are sent to different convents where they must live the rest of their lives as nuns.tAnna and the family included are real, but some are left out. Also, the battles her father went to in the book were real battles with the Turks. Her and her mother did try to assassinate John and were sent to different convents. Anna did actually write a book about her father like it says in the book. Anna’s influential teacher and maid were made up also. In the book Anna’s first fiance died and became engaged to another man which she actually did marry and have children with.tI really enjoyed the book and found it interesting. There wasn’t a whole lot of suspense or anything, but you want to know what happens and want to get to know Anna. In the beginning of the book it starts in the convent where she tells her story of how and why she got there which is a suspense of its own. I feel like being a girl also made it more interesting and made it possible to connect with Anna and get to know her more. Also, learning how they lived and their culture was interesting because its so much different now. tThis would be a fun book to read just for fun. It’s not like an ordinary book because it is based on a true story and you learn a thing or two about that time. Once you start to read it you probably won’t put it down for awhile and when it ends you’ll want to know more. It’s probably one of the best books I’ve read and the fact that it was historical is surprising considering how much I liked it. If you do read it, you won’t regret it at all.
Anna Comnena is living her worst nightmare born with a silver spoon in her mouth she has been brought up in a world of great privilege and at one point a commoner even turning their back on her could have meant their death. Now the reader meets the young princess for the first time in the scriptorium of a nunnery in the mountains of the Byzantine empire, where she has been degraded to the point of trying to match wits with a graying old nun who likes to try to put the young upstart princess in her place. Anna was brought up to believe that she would take her Father's place as the next express of the powerful Byzantine empire, but when she manipulates her Grandmother and metaphorically 'bites the hand that is feeding' her the keys to her Father's kingdom; her world comes crashing down around her as she is accused of heinous acts and she sees her spoiled young brother take what she believes to be her birth right. From the first page this was a book that brought out the wit and bright mind of the main character which I enjoyed seeing especially in a woman of the middle ages who can sometimes be portrayed as having weak minds or not being as intelligent as men. It was delightful imagining the scenes between the characters as they each fought for their rightful place in the dangerous dance that was the royal world of the middle ages in the Byzantine empire, the crusades, and the wars with the Turks. I would've enjoyed more details of palace life, and of the lives of the young princesses, and their brother and familial relatives during their young years since that was where most of the story was based; but overall it was a good plot and easy to read and get drawn into. Some chapters were a bit choppy and could've ended smoother but it was a very enjoyable read. It intrigued me enough that I would like to learn more about this particular women in history she seems very feisty and intelligent.
—Elizabeth
3.5 stars for this nice quick read, recommended to those fans of historical fiction who want to read a story set in a different age and different region than most books.Anyone checking the Wikipedia page on Anna Comnena, daughter of Emperor Alexios I Komnenos of Byzantium and the first female history writer known to us, will find that this novel does not stick to the facts, and alters and leaves out quite some parts. The author admits this in her notes at the back of the book, which I appreciate. But despite Anna's work as a historian, the fact that stands out most from her Wikipedia page is that it is believed she plotted to murder her brother John. For us in our modern day lifes this seems to be something absolutely incomprehensible and out of this world. How could anyone do that? The strength of this book is not presenting facts - I have added Anna's book "Alexiad" (which mentions Anna's brother as little as possible) to my wishlist to read up on the facts later. The strength of this book is that in just over 200 pages and without causing a culture shock the author manages to create an imperial world, a world of ancient history books and an attractive story that show us how such an awful thing as plotting to murder your own brother could easily have happened in early 12th century Byzantium. For such an accomplishment in a debut novel I'm upgrading my review to 4 stars.
—Suzanne
Anna Of ByzantiumSummary: Anna Commena was to rule after her father. Considering Anna was his favorite child and the first born. Her tutor was her grandmother. Both "sides" of her grandmother had a different outlook on Anna. Her grandmother taught her unsportsmanlike ways to rule and treat people and Anna's mother was not pleased. Her grandmother heard that Anna had tried to kill her younger brother, John, which was Anna's grandmothers revenge. Anna thought it was because her grandmother did not fancy Anna's future husband. Anna's right to take over the throne was taken from her by her brother, who was still very young. After taking Anna's crown and fiancé away, her grandmother said that Anna was not actually her fathers daughter, which she actually is, and got John the crown. After all of this went down, Anna tried to poison John, but was caught by her tutor. Anna was then later shipped to the convent and lived the rest of her retelling the story of her life, and went with the nuns to go and write. Historical Review: The story of Anna of Byzantium has facts that are historically correct and facts that are not historically correct. The books shares the story of Anna's life that actually did happen, but they cut a few facts out. Anna actually had more siblings, she married and had children with Nikephorous Byrrenius. The books states that she had attempted assignation when she was fairly young, but this actually didn't occur until she was older. The culture of Byzantium was reflected well in this book. It correctly shows the attitudes of the women. Where the book was the most historically correct was the fact that Tracey Barrett was actually a also a historian. Opinion: I'm not a big fan of historical fiction so I wasn't to thrilled about this book. Aside from that fact, I was surprised at the turn in events in the book where Anna's grandmother betrayed her and helped her brother John take over the throne. When Anna's father had passed away I thought that maybe her grandmother had to do something with his death. Like maybe she poisoned him so Anna's crown would be given to her little brother, John. Suggestion: If you are interested in historical fiction, then this is a very good book to read. This book has a plentiful amount of historical accurate details to fulfill your interest. Also by reading this book you can learn about Byzantium and what happened with royalty back in the Ancient Roman times.
—Erika Larsen
