Fiction
“Tessa Afshar once again brings the New Testament to life.”

— World Magazine, February 2020
Published February 4, 2020
A Publisher’s Weekly bestseller in Religious Fiction and Carol Award finalist in Historical Romance

Daughter of Rome

by Tessa Afshar

When the daughter of a prominent Roman general meets a disinherited Jewish immigrant, neither one can dream of God’s plan to transform them into the most influential couple of the early church. Nor can they anticipate the mountains that will threaten to bury them.

With their courtship shadowed by murder and betrayal, Priscilla and Aquila slowly work to build a community of believers, while their lives grow increasingly complicated thanks to a shaggy dog, a mysterious runaway, and a ruthless foe desperate for love. But when they’re banished from their home by a capricious emperor, they must join forces with an unusual rabbi named Paul and fight to turn treachery into redemption.

With impeccable research and vivid detail, Daughter of Rome is both an emotive love story and an immersive journey through first-century Rome and Corinth.

Click here for your free downloadable Daughter of Rome Book Club Kit.

Reviews

“A beautiful, beautiful book that’s going to force me to pick up the rest of her books soon.” [Click here to read the full review]

Josh Olds, lifeisstory.com

“This is a lovely slow-burning, faith-filled exploration about overcoming trials and accepting past mistakes in a richly detailed world. Recommended.”

Historical Novel Society

“This is Afshar’s strongest, most complex scripture-based story yet.”

Publishers Weekly

“[Afshar] makes early Christianity spark.”

Foreword Reviews

“A feast for your imagination as well as balm for your soul.”

Robin Jones Gunn, Bestselling Author of Becoming Us, Book 1 in The Haven Makers series

“Tessa Afshar has the rare gift of seamlessly blending impeccable historical research and theological depth with lyrical prose and engaging characters.”

Sharon Garlough Brown, Author of Shades of Light and the Sensible Shoes series