The Forgotten Daughter

by Caroline Dale Snedeker, Dorothy P. Lathrop (Illustrator)

Chloe, the young daughter of a noble Roman man, has been lost to her father, and has spent her life unknown to him, as a slave on one of his own villas. Cruelly treated, and with no hope of freedom, her only escape is into the stories of her Grecian mother's home town of Eresos, as told to her by Melissa, a fellow-slave and her mother's dearest friend.

Aulus, a brave young Roman soldier, is banished from Rome and escapes to his own villa in the Italian countryside. There he is faced by a life-threatening misfortune, is saved by the enchanting young Chloe, and falls in love with her, despite the fact that she is a slave.

This historically accurate book is a captivating story of adventure, love, Chloe's struggle with the anger and hatred she feels toward her father, and the forgiveness she learns that cleanses her soul.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Romance, Young Adult, Fiction, Childrens, Juvenile, Historical

309 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1933

Reviews

[molly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was my number one book from ages 8-13. It has everything you need, including alot of swinging across rapids on a hanging vine while wearing a diaphanous chiton. So good!

[Theresa · Rating 2 out of 5]

**Spoilers** The main character is "The Forgotten Daughter". The plot starts with her mother who is captured by the Romans, she ends up falling in love and marrying one of the officers. The husband is called away to Rome by his father, and during that time the mother along with her daughter are thrown out of the main house. The mother ends up dying, and to prevent the daughter from being sold off she is taken by a faithful servant, and raised in the forest. Years later the daughter meets a young Roman, falls in love, and is separated. She also ends up meeting her estranged father.

[Amanda · Rating 2 out of 5]

Interesting setting (ancient Rome), but I found the story a little hard to follow. In the middle of the story the focus shifted from Melissa and Chloe to their neighbor Aulus, a Roman citizen. Aulus, in Rome, gets caught up in a violent political debate. A lot of new characters with similar names are introduced and it was a little hard to keep track. The story was told in the 3rd person so I found it harder to relate to the characters. The author made a couple interesting comments about Rome at that time compared to America at that time (1933)

[Lynette Caulkins · Rating 3 out of 5]

I would give this one a 3.5. Snedeker tells a sweet story rich in historical fiction, and as you're enjoying the tale, she educates you on life in Italy and Rome, ca. 200 B.C. You do get bits here and there of the patrimony of Snedeker's age, and her mislocation of Samnia as being in the North of Italy (rather than its central position just east of Rome) was slightly distracting. Still, it's charming, and it brings back memories of my youthful infatuation with all things ancient Greece and Rome.

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Despite the moderate star rating I gave this book, it's one of my all-time favorite "comfort" books — the kind you read strictly because you're a sap. I was lucky enough to grab a copy of the hardback edition when it was withdrawn from my junior-high library! The spine is in pieces now, but the words are intact. It looks like it was released in paperback a few years ago, but is out-of-print again.

[Ann aka Iftcan · Rating 5 out of 5]

I remember first reading this book as a kid. My Dad was in the Navy, and we were stationed in Greece for 3 years. While there, I read everything I could get my hands on that was set in ancient Greece, Egypt and Rome.

This is a good, solid story with believeable characters. The historical facts and characters read "real"--and are accurate. It gives a feel for what life must have been like in the Roman world.

[Courtney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love all things Rome. The only downside to this book was the author's social commentary and too much historical detail that really didn't have much to do with her plot. Otherwise, it was cute.

[slauderdale]

I was disappointed in the way this book resolved. It was all a big mistake/misunderstanding and he thought his Greek wife and their daughter were both dead sort of undermines the larger theme re: forgiveness and whether/how Chloe can forgive her father. I was also disappointed that the author had the father's second family killed off by disease. It would have been a lot more challenging, and interesting, to see how things would have played out if they'd been alive, even if it was just the siblings. Honestly, I felt bad for Chloe's half-sister, who is treated even by the larger narrative as a kind of mousy little nothing, presumably so that she does not vie with Chloe for our affections. It didn't have to be that way. I did enjoy my overall reading experience, though, and I came back to write this review in part because I found these passages that I had liked in the book, and wanted to put them here for easy retrieval, since the book itself is long returned at this point. Bear in mind that the present to which the author is referring is circa 1933, the year she published it, and they become all the more poignant.

“Slavery was like this. We say we have slavery today in factory and machine shop – but slavery was different – slavery was like this.” (38; sort of wish the author was alive and/or that one could time-travel back for a conversation with her, because this statement demands a much longer discussion, but contextually it is exquisitely succinct and convicting.)

“The Rome to which Aulus had returned was a state startlingly like our own. That is, its problems were our problems. Not only were the people facing unemployment and dislodgment of the farmer, which Tiberius was trying earnestly to mend. They were facing internationalism. Rome’s internationalism was created by her victories. These victories had hurt the conquered; but they hurt the conqueror yet more. Rome at this time had almost finished her world conquest. It was not our modern complete world. But it was all the world there was. Now Rome had to *live* with these foreigners just as we have to live with China, Japan, Europe and South America. Fortunately we have not “conquered” these countries as Rome had done – in that we are better off. For now Rome had to wield the whole world, and she was not big enough to do it. […]

Today, in spite of diplomatic downfalls and cruel armaments, the world seems slowly to be forced to see the light. We seem to realize the new world-neighborhood which has come upon us, and to feel it with kindness and understanding.

We do not know. We can only hope.” (134-137)

[Melissa · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid 3 stars. I wanted to like it more than I did, but the writing threw me off (deliberately mythic and quasi-ancient historical) and I grew up reading Bullfinch - I just don't care for that style in a novel. The story is of young Chloe, daughter of Chloe of the isle of Lesbos who was taken as a slave by a Roman named Lavineus. L falls in love with C, feelings are mutual, they get married but not in the approved Roman fashion. C has a son who dies young, L is called back to Rome, is told C has died in childbirth with a stillborn girl-child, and marries properly. Except the girl-child isn't stillborn, she is hidden away by her mother's slave/hand-maid/friend Melissa, and is raised as a slave on the country estate. There's an evil overseer, a good overseer, and a handsome patrician neighbor boy. There is also a fictionalized history of the state of Roman Republic, ca. 2nd c. BC, specifically the story of Tiberius Gracchus. There is also a complete POV shift from Chloe the Younger to Aulus the patrician neighbor to tell that bit of Roman history. I read this for my 2018 Reading Challenge and for my Newbery Challenge (Honor Book 1934).

[Joanne Renaud · Rating 4 out of 5]

Once you get past the omniscient throat-clearing of "yes these characters are pagans!" "yes animal sacrifice is bad!" and "wow Rome in the 2nd century BCE is just like 1920s America!" (No, it was not) there's a pretty solid story here. Chloe, a young girl who lives an isolated life in the mountains, the possibly legitimate daughter of a Greek slave and a Roman aristocrat who has seemingly forgotten her very existence, is torn between her desire for freedom and her love for Aulus, a young Roman aristo in hiding because of political upheaval. It's a fun adventure romance reminiscent of genre greats Gillian Bradshaw and Colleen McCullough. If you like that sort of thing, and you don't mind an occasionally antiquated authorial interjection, it's worth reading.

[Channary · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Forgotten Daughter is a historically accurate novel written by Caroline Dale Snedeker which centres it's story around the life of young Chloé, the daughter of Lævinus and Chloé. This story tells the life of Chloé who worked as a slave, even though her (living) father was of high status (spoiler: it later on states that he had no knowledge of Chloé). The story is a journey through Chloé's life as a loom worker who, with the companionship of Melissa (her mother's friend), grows into a fine woman. This story would surround the themes of courage, adventure, hope and love and I would definitely recommend it to any child aged ten and up who prefers to read longer levels (for their age).

[Jen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Three stars for the times when the book was engaging and for the decent ending. But most of the time this was a two star book. I wish I had known before reading whether this was pure fiction, or mythology retelling, or historical fiction with actual historical figures. I still don't know, and that confusion was frustrating. Some parts were so boring. I think this would be marketed as YA if it were published today.

[Snuggery Mom · Rating 3 out of 5]

I gave this three stars, because the story was good for a large part of the book, and I learned a lot about this time period during the Roman Empire. Too much happened at once at the end, leaving everything feeling half-baked and very unsatisfying, which was a shame. I enjoyed Snedeker's The White Isle more, perhaps, but, in hindsight, it's ending may have been a tad rushed as well

[Melissa Sweeney · Rating 3 out of 5]

Although I appreciated all the historical accurate details about the Romans through the book, I found the plot lacking, or at least unconventional. It didn’t follow normal plot structures. The exposition was extremely long, then it abruptly switched characters for several chapters. The last 1/3 of the book did conclude in a satisfying ending.

[Mrs · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 stars instead of 5 only because it didn't make me cry. A beautiful novel that contains the story of Tiberius Gracchus, almost word for word from Plutarch, and yet somehow it works. A well-crafted plot, beautiful language, a slice of life near the end of the Roman Republic, and a gentle romance.

[Michelle Fournier · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this story so much. And it definitely inspired me to make Plutarch’s life of Tiberius Gracchus the next life we study in our homeschool.
Highly recommend as historical fiction for the time period (200 BC in Rome).
I have really enjoyed everything I have picked up by this author.

[Julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

It took some time to get involved in the story but then I was hooked.

[Desiree']

1934 Newbery honor book

[Wayne Walker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Chloe is a teenage girl who lives with her guardian Melissa in a cottage on a country estate of the ancient Roman Republic. Her mother, also named Chloe, was a Greek from the island of Eresos. The older Chloe had been captured, along with her servant Melissa, by the Roman conquerer Laevinus, who married her and fathered Chloe. However, all her life the young Chloe has been told that her father abandoned her mother, causing her death. She and Melissa are treated as slaves whose work is to spin wool into thread and then weave it into cloth for Laevinus’s new wife Helvia and children Lavinia and Kaeso in the city of Rome. The villicus or overseer Davus regularly beats the girl and apparently is given to lying about her. Chloe has grown to hate the very name of her father.
The estate next door belongs to the Cornelius family, and Chloe occasionally sees the son Aulus riding his horse in the fields and imagines him as her perfect suitor. A few years later Aulus, who has been away at war, returns to Rome to help his friend, the tribune Tiberius Gracchus, make reforms, but when Tiberius is murdered by the Senate, Aulus is banished from Rome and hides out at his family’s country estate. While out walking one day, Aulus falls into a hunter’s pit and is saved by Chloe. The two fall in love and talk of marriage. However, Aulus’s father has the banishment reversed, and as Aulus prepares to return to Rome, they part on less than friendly terms. With the arrival of a new villicus even worse than Davus, Chloe and Melissa run away to find a relative in Poseidonia. They almost make it but are recognized by a coworker of Davus and returned as runaway slaves. What will happen to them? And will Chloe ever see Aulus again?
The Forgotten Daughter was a Newbery honor book in 1934. In it, as she did for ancient Greek culture in Theras and His Town and Lysis Goes to the Play, the author makes everyday life in ancient Roman society come to life. Much of the plot and most of the characters are fictitious, but Tiberius Gracchus was elected tribune in 133 B. C. and set out to pass laws that would help the plebeians or common people in Rome. Snedeker carefully weaves historical events regarding his work and death into the very intriguing and engaging story. There is little objectionable. A few references to drinking wine, historically correct, are found, and the “d” word is used once, not as a term of cursing but as a description of something very revolting. Not only does the book make a wonderful comparison of Greek and Roman world views in simple language, but it is also a heartwarming tale of loss and forgiveness. We did this as a family read aloud, and everyone liked it.

[Val · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid. It's one that has stuck with me throughout the years. I first read this book many years ago, It along with "Black Beauty" were my favorite books. I read this book so many times, that my copy doesn't have the pages at the beginning or the end of the book. I let my daughters read it but of course neither one of them really cared for the book, they thought it was a little slow (well to each her own) nonetheless I love this book. In many ways it was very sad at times. I think I’ll go read it again. The book make a wonderful comparison of Greek and Roman world views in simple language, but it is also a heartwarming tale of love, loss and forgiveness. It gives a feel for what life must have been like in the Roman world. The author artfully combines historical fact with fiction in a lyrical prose that is expressive and moving without being cloying. Note: Young readers of today may be confused by the term "lesbian,” here meant to refer to Greeks from the island of Lesbos.
Caroline Dale Snedeker's delightful novel for young adults is set in and close to Republican Rome of the 2nd century BC, less than a hundred years prior to the rise of Julius Caesar. The Forgotten Daughter of the title is young Chloe, offspring of an upper class Roman and a Greek slave. Raised as a slave on an estate far from the city, she knows cruelty and want, despite the nurturing presence of Melissa, her deceased mother's closest friend and fellow slave. Another major character in the narrative is the aristocratic young Roman Aulus, whose support of controversial land reforms by the (historical) politican Gaius Gracchus leads to his exile from Rome. While living in seclusion at his family's country home, Aulus meets the spritely Chloe, now grown to lovely young womanhood. He is drawn to her sensitivity and artistic spirit--thanks to Melissa's education, she can even quote from Sappho and the Greek playwrights--and they become friends. Their comradeship and budding romance are charmingly described, as are the misunderstandings between them, and the eventual acknowledgement of Chloe by her long-absent father.

[Thomas Bell · Rating 3 out of 5]

I felt that this book really struggled with pulling me in. It wanted to, but it just couldn't do it.

This book takes place somewhere in Italy during the 2nd century BC, during some of the years of Rome's greatest power. At first I thought it seemed like it was going to be a historical book, and it sort of was but not really.

The book starts out with a guy, seemingly good, courting and loving and then abandoning his pregnant wife Chloe because she's a Lesbian. No, not the kind you are thinking of but the kind that means she's an Aeolic Greek lady from the island of Lesbos. He's a Roman, and technically she's a slave. So he goes and gets himself a Roman girl instead. Then we read about the struggles of her friend, Melissa, and her daughter, also named Chloe, who grows up hating her deadbeat father.

Then the plot suddenly changes and we're with a young guy, Aulus, who goes into Rome to try to help his friend who is way ahead of his time. Anyway, he gets into political danger, which over 2000 years ago meant actual danger as well.

And then the plot gradually becomes a story of two Star-Crossed lovers, Chloe and Aulus, though that doesn't come across as strongly as the author seems to think it does. The ending turns out too perfectly (side affect of being written 85 years ago) yet is still lame.

Nonetheless, the writing is nice, and I did learn a fair amount (I think) about life in Rome during that time period. Fairly interesting - it's just that the story in front of it was quite weak in my opinion.

[Catarina · Rating 5 out of 5]

I had to go back and change my star rating from 4 to 5 stars. It is just too wonderfully written.

[Riley Mooney · Rating 3 out of 5]

I truly had a hard time getting into this book. I am not sure if it was because the way it is written or I just wasn’t too interested. The Forgotten Daughter is a good insight of what the Roman and Greek culture was like. Chloe lives a very interesting life. I did enjoy reading about Chloe’s adventures and was anxious to see what was going to happen next to her. She does learn to forgive her father and finds her true love. I do not strongly recommend this book compared to some of my other readings, but I would not disregard it because it does have a good lesson on forgiveness and love.
The quote that stuck out to me in this book is:
"It is strange how people try to mend their lives when the garment is torn to shreds. It is strange, too, how life's garment, unlike human weaving, grows whole with the mending" (p. 49).

[Tessa · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm wibbling between three and four stars.

On the three-starred-hand is the fact that 1930s sap is here in abundance, that it was sadly predictable, the little pointless side-trip in the middle of the book, and there was no tragic ending. (It needed one.)

On the four-starred-hand is Snedeker's lovely writing, her engaging story-line, and fascinating setting. (And I love the way she wrote about slaves--very historically rather than politically correct. Hooray for that!)


What think you?

[Laurelwreath · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this in 1969 in my middle school library. I loved it. Over the years I forgot the title and the author but never the story. I would google story points and even wrote my school librarian. She returned my email but couldn't help. Finally I hit on the right combination and found it!! You never know if it will hold up through the years. But it still had the magic. Yes it is a fairytale, yes the ending is improbable but that's why it's a story not history. The thing was it still gave me chills at all the right places. So I'd recommend it for whatever age you are.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is almost a nonfiction book, filled full of historical facts. Taken from her home in Lesbos, Chloe's mother became the wife of her Roman captor, who left her before Chloe's birth. After her death, Chloe grows up raised by a fellow Lesbian, Melissa, as a slave in her own father's estate. Hating him and all Romans, she slowly makes friends with a neighboring Roman patrician. When he leaves, feeling her beneath him, she runs away in desperation.

[JoAnn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book too many years ago to mention and every now and then something calls it back to mind. At that age I was fascinated by all things Greek and Roman and that is how the story caught my eye, but beyond that it is a wonderful story, well told.

I remember not knowing how to pronounce the name Chloe.

[flygyrl72 · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have to get this book & read it again. I haven't read it since I was around 8. But is has never left my memory. I googled "ancient Rome, slave girl, childrens book" to find the title again. I just remember I found a dusty old copy at my grandmother's house & I'd read it all the time. Will order soon & update my review.

[Susan]

Okay, I have to find a copy of this book!! I saw this on Goodreads, and I'm just about sure it's that same book I read when I was about 14, and have thought about again and again over the years. But it's a very old book, (although a Newbery honor), and none of my libraries have it, and a copy on Amazon is too expensive...anybody have one?

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved this book as a kid. It's one that stuck with me through out the years (I even named my daughter after the main character). I need to order a copy off of amazon for my kids; I'd like to see what they think about it.