Has anyone here read "The beacon of Alexandria" By Gillian Bradshaw? Is one of these books I read every couple of years and I just realize the plot is a huge Bellarke's fic waiting to happen.
Let me share a brief summary (I'll try not to spoil too much):
Is a historical fiction novel set during the declining days of the Roman Empire.
The main character is a young noblewoman whose fate is to marry well and birth many roman babies, but what she actually loves is medicine, however, women weren't allowed to study or practice it.
When his father falls out of favour with the Emperor, he is forced to arrange her marriage with the man who orchestrated his fall. In order to escape the marriage, the protagonist, addled by her brother and mother's figure, disguises herself as a eunuch and flees to Alexandria to pursue her dream of becoming a doctor.
In Alexandria, she manages to become the apprentice of a Jewish doctor, but she also ends up involved with a political faction of the Christian Church and because of it, approached by a "spy" for the Imperial Government. She despises him at first but eventually, they become allies.
After it turns into a political upheaval, she is forced to leave Alexandria to work in a military hospital at the edge of the Empire. Although she has to live pretending to be a eunuch and therefore unable to have any romantical or sexual relationships, she is contented with being a doctor, until she realizes she has fallen in love with the worst possible choice, the spy. There is waaay more plot going on, but in case anyone wants to give the book a try, I'll leave it there.
