![]() ![]() Yet it has to some extent been slighted on awards lists. Lavinia is, by any measure, one of the best fantastical novels of 2008. (Thus he and Lavinia are first cousins, but of course in royal marriages such consanguinity was often no bar.) Unfortunately, Turnus’s character is in question-and, indeed, Lavinia cannot respect or love him. The clear leader is Turnus, who is handsome and charismatic, and who is also Amata’s nephew. Many prominent local men are interested, but, naturally, it is the kings and kings’ sons who are most eligible. As Lavinia grows older she grows spiritually-she communes with the local gods much as her father does-and of course physically, and, as with any royal woman, the question of her marriage becomes politically charged. This sets up a dynamic that drives some of the later action: her mother resents, even hates, Lavinia, and wants nothing to do with Latinus, but both of them are too dutiful to put Amata in her place. Her mother, Amata, is from a nearby kingdom, and has been driven mad after Lavinia’s two brothers both died. Lavinia tells her own story, beginning in her youth. ![]()
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