Lavinia

Author: Ursula K. Le Guin

Lavinia

Troy has fallen. Rome is a tiny village by the seven hills... At the end of Virgil’s epic poem The Aeneid, the Trojan hero Aeneas, following his destiny, is about to marry the Italian girl Lavinia. But in the poem, she has played only the slightest part, and has never spoken a word.

Daughter of a local king, Lavinia has lived in peace and freedom, till suitors came seeking her hand, and a foreign fleet sailed up the Tiber. Now her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus, but strange omens, prophecies spoken by the voices of the sacred trees and springs, foretell that she must marry a stranger. And that she will be the cause of a bitter war. And that her husband will not live long.

Lavinia is determined to follow her own destiny. And when she talks with the spirit of the poet in the sacred grove, she begins to see that destiny. So she gains her own voice, learning how to tell the story Virgil left untold — her story, her life, and the love of her life.

Country of origin: United States

Year of publication: 2009

Published by: Mariner Books

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More information about the book Lavinia

Book Review by Guardian

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Background information on Virgil's poem "The Aeneid"

Wikipedia entry