Grove Press
Grove Press
Grove Press
“An absorbing study of a single man’s moral code, as well as a provocative meditation on the difficulty of leading a virtuous life in an era of tumultuous change.” –Erik Burns, The New York Times Book Review
A God Strolling in the Cool of the Evening is a sweeping, magical novel of religious division, civil unrest, and the consequences of hubris set amid the pomp and decadence of the late Roman Empire. Magistrate of Tarcisis, in the Iberian province of Lusitania, Lucius Valerius Quintius seeks to govern with the honor and justice advocated by Emperor Marcus Aurelius. He receives warning that invading Moors are headed toward Tarcisis, but the city fathers refuse to take the danger seriously. Meanwhile within the city walls an outlaw sect has appeared that signals its faith with the sign of the fish, and Lucius finds himself drawn to its beautiful, charismatic leader. When the city is besieged and its internal conflicts nearly cripple its defenses, Lucius’s heart is pitted against his civic duty, and the outcome will change forever his trust in Roman justice.
“Lucius is a particularly affecting creation . . . torn between the compromises his duty demands and the incertitudes of his own conscience in a manner that finds contemporary echoes everywhere.” –Shashi Tharoor, The Washington Post Book World
“An absorbing study of a single man’s moral code, as well as a provocative meditation on the difficulty of leading a virtuous life in an era of tumultuous change.” –Erik Burns, The New York Times Book Review
“[A] magic carpet ride that carries us off to other times and places . . . [to] return refreshed and with a broader perspective on our own time and place.” –Tony Beckwith, Dallas Morning News
Winner of the Pegasus Prize for Literature
An Independent Literary Publisher Since 1917
