DIDO Queen of Tyre and Carthage — Gaia Servadio

THIS historical novel, which took eight years to research, recounts the romantic and adventurous story of Dido, Queen of Tyre and founder of Carthage. Didos story is entwined with her confrontation against the overwhelming power of the cruel Assyrians, the orgies of the Hittites and the changes that took place in the Egyptian kingdom. The Phoenicians were celebrated as seafarers and merchants; they traded in purple dye a formula they kept secret, olive oil and wine, and they had great navigational skills. But they practised child sacrifice and sacred prostitution. Carthage, the metropolis that Dido founded on the African coast, inherited the greatness but also the cruelty of the Phoenicians. This engaging 78-chapter work is complemented by extensive factual information including a glossary and bibliography, quotations, timeline and family trees.