El faro de Alejandría

by Gillian Bradshaw, María José Gassó (Translator)

Obligada por su origen noble a contraer matrimonio con el cruel gobernador Festino, la joven Caris de Éfeso huye en dirección a Alejandría disfrazada de eunuco. Su sueño es estudiar el arte de Hipócratesy dedicarse a la medicina, un sueño imposible para una mujer en el año 371 d.C. No obstante las dificultades, Caris logra convertirse en médico y, gracias a sus conocimientos, acercarse a las más altas esferas del poder en pleno ocaso del Imperio Romano. Basando esta trama en una detallada descripción de la medicina hipocrática y, por encima de todo, en una cuidada y rica ambientación en la mítica Alejandría, Gillian Bradshaw ha escrito una novela de ágil lectura y gran interés histórico.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Fiction, Historical, Egypt, Romance, Historical Romance, Africa

639 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1986

About the author

Born in Arlington, Virgina, Gillian Bradshaw grew up in Washington, Santiago, Chile and Michigan. She is a Classics graduate from Newnham College, Cambridge, and published her first novel, Hawk of May, just before her final term. A highly acclaimed historical novelist, Gillian Bradshaw has won the Hopwood Award for Fiction, among other prizes. She lives in Cambridge with her husband and their four children.

Reviews

[Lee Anne · Rating 5 out of 5]

*Do NOT read the synopsis on the back of the book/goodreads—gives away the entire story. Literally. The whole plot.*

It’s been almost ten years since I read this book for the first time, and it still has a powerful hold on me. I can’t explain exactly why it is a favorite; sure, it has the bold and brave girl-who-disguises-herself-as-a-boy in order to do what she loves, but it’s so much more than that. Charis is one of those characters that I can’t help loving and rooting for, and her journey during the declining years of the Roman empire is both vivid, uplifting, and sad. Despite sounding like a modern heroine, she feels totally authentic, as do all the characters. In some ways she reminds me of Amelia Peabody, another favorite heroine of mine, but minus the tongue-in-cheek humor and over-the-top adventure. Charis’ story certainly has some over-the-top qualities to it (and even a little bit of humor), but it never veers into melodrama, and while her disregard for danger leaves her friends throwing up their hands in despair, the author has her face very real and complex situations, without any glib solutions. This is one of those novels that transcends genre, that is thoroughly enjoyable to read but also impossible to stop thinking about. It’s a rare book that will keep you up to 4 a.m. for a re-read.

The plot: Charis is the daughter of a well-to-do Greek politician in Ephesus. Despite her interest in all things medical, she never imagines any life for herself other than that of dutiful wife. But when the malicious new governor Festinus accuses her father of treason, and then announces that he will marry her, she knows she has to real choice but to flee. Disguising herself as a eunuch (which makes the story a lot more believable than the typical girl-dressed-up-as-a-boy), she travels to Alexandria, where she hopes to study medicine at the famed university. But Charis quickly learns that eunuchs are almost as much of outsiders as women are, and she struggles to earn the right to study.

And that is just the beginning: but to tell more of her story would be cheating you of the chance to experience it yourself. The simultaneous splendor, squalor, nobility, and corruption of the empire is presented in both beautiful and heartbreaking ways, and it is a love letter to that civilization as well as a meditation on living in a world that is falling apart.

[Rachel Neumeier · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gillian Bradshaw is my favorite historical author, hands down, and this is my favorite book of hers. It's one of the books I reach for when I need something to read for just a minute -- and one of the ones I usually wind up reading straight through (again) because I can't leave it unfinished.

Charis is a wonderful character; the world building is exquisite; the romance is handled subtly and beautifully and doesn't take over the book -- not only did I just re-read BEACON for the fifth or sixth time over the past few days, but I know I'll come back to it many times in the future.

[Chrisl · Rating 5 out of 5]

Top rank Bradshaw, a multiple re-read ... with a marginal review from someone at Kirkus.
No longer copy in regional network. (Really would like to re-read.)
Tagged YA because I'd definitely have it in a high school library. Maybe multiple copies.
Bradshaw develops characters you like to share time with. Perhaps my favorite creator of historical fiction ...
***
4July2020 - Do fawns react as do dogs when fireworks explode? Have two does each with two fawns in residence this season.
***
Reading wiki about Hindu Kush, saw 'Ferghana listed on Bactria Map. Thought of another book by Bradshaw ...
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hindu_K...
Horses of Heaven (Would like to re-read - would have it in high school library?
No longer available in regional library ... no re-read no review.)
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
"KIRKUS REVIEW

Solid but not particularly stirring historical, from the author of an Arthurian trilogy (concluded with In Winter's Shadow, 1982). In A.D. 371, Valens is Emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire at Constantinople. Cowardly, chariot-race-loving Theodoros, a consul at Ephesus, is disconcerted to be accused of treachery by ugly, low-born Imperial agent Festinus: Valens, it seems, is taking seriously a prophesy which states that he will be replaced by one whose name begins with Theod--. Theodoros, of course, is wholly innocent, but during the investigation the sadistic Festinus becomes enamoured of Theodoros' beautiful daughter Charis; weakly, Theodoros agrees to the marriage. Horrified, Charis--who wants to be a doctor, a profession forbidden to women--rejects the vile Festinus and, with her brother Thorion's connivance, flees to Alexandria, center of the healing arts. There she becomes Chariton ""the eunuch,"" medical student and assistant to the skilled, humane, Jewish doctor Philon. Alexandria, however, is seething with religious strife, as the powerful, popular Bishop Athanasios continues to rebuff Imperial attempts to oust him; during an interview he divines Chariton's secret but agrees not to divulge it. And an Imperial spy, the handsome Goth Athanaric, is impressed when Chariton refuses a hefty bribe to inform on Athanasios. The latter, alas, eventually dies, and Alexandria is no longer safe for Chariton; she agrees to go to Thrace to serve as an army doctor. Here, among other complications, Chariton's career comes to a head: she kills a would-be rapist; she's reunited with brother Thorion, now an Imperial governor; eventually she's revealed as a woman, but continues to practice her art; and, Finally, Athanaric beholds the real Charis, and love blossoms. An appealing drama, with a vibrant, vital backdrop, agreeable characters, and steady plotting. But, unfortunately, this was a turbulent but rather anonymous epoch in Roman history, with a succession of unmemorable Emperors, a weary procession of invading barbarian hordes, and no famous historical figures that might help fix the period in readers' minds. So the result, while well above average, lacks the drawing power of big-name notoriety.
Pub Date: Sept. 12th, 1986
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin"

[Peter Tillman · Rating 5 out of 5]

Jo Walton's review is the one to read: https://www.tor.com/2009/05/07/missin...
"Gillian Bradshaw has written more accomplished books than The Beacon at Alexandria, but none that I love more. It’s a comfort book for me, fitting into a sweet spot where she does everything just the way I like it."

Highly recommended, and on my list to reread sometime. But my favorite Bradshaw novel (so far) remains her story of Archimedes: "The Sand-Reckoner," https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

2024 reread notes: This was the author's first venture into adult historical fiction -- although the pivotal event, a sexual assault on the protagonist by her intended husband, happened when she was 15. As before, Jo Walton is a trustworthy guide. Read her review first. This was an early novel, but still a very good one, even if unpolished in places. Overall, my reread rating was 4.5 stars, highly recommended.

The library copy I read this time was a challenge, because it was heavily marked-up (in pencil) by a thoughtless reader, and it required discipline to look past all that junk. I gave some thought to erasing the markups, but that would have been a major undertaking. I hate it when people deface library books!

[Kathrin Passig · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich hatte ein in der Antike spielendes Kinderbuch erwartet, es war aber abgesehen vom Alter der Protagonistin (16–25) eigentlich nicht auffällig für ein junges Publikum geschrieben. Es hört an genau der richtigen Stelle auf, nicht zu früh, aber auch nicht nach dem Aufzählen der weiteren Schicksale aller Beteiligten. Wo waren solche Bücher, als ich nur Bücher mit männlichen Hauptfiguren kannte und noch mehrere Jahre Geschichts- und Lateinunterricht vor mir hatte? Hat die Deggendorfer Stadtbücherei etwa doch versagt, oder habe ich nur nicht gründlich genug gesucht?

[nettebuecherkiste]

Als Teenager gelesen

[Brian · Rating 5 out of 5]

When Charis, a fifteen year old girl living in Ephesus in the middle of the fourth century finds herself betrothed to a powerful but sadistic man, she flees to Alexandria and, instead of domesticity, pursues her interest in medicine. Disguised as a eunuch she attends lectures and is apprenticed to a Jewish doctor.

But fourth century Alexandria is a hotbed of religious and political dissent and, finding herself inadvertently caught up in the midst of it, she's obliged to flee once more, this time to Thrace where she works as a military doctor before her secret is finally uncovered.

Like all Bradshaw's books, this is a character-based story. It is true that the protagonist finds herself stationed on the edge of the Eastern Roman empire at the precise moment Attila the Hun's marauding army forces thousands of displaced Goths to come pouring across the border, creating a crisis that was instrumental in the ultimate collapse of half the empire. But Bradshaw's main focus in this book, as in all her works, is on the effect that great events have on individual people, rather than on the grand sweep of history.

With her determination to live life on her own terms, despite apparently overwhelming odds, Charis is a deeply sympathetic character, and what is particular absorbing about this book is the way that, like a stone in the middle of a river, she bends the current of popular opinion around her, creating a place for an intelligent and uncompromising woman in a world largely governed by greedy and often unimaginative men.

[Rindis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Gillian Bradshaw is one of my favorite historical authors, and this one does not disappoint. She admits up front to distorting the timeline slightly in the interests of the plot, which spans about seven critical years in the Fourth Century.

At this point the Roman Empire is Christian, but not necessarily deeply so, with plenty of pagan traditions surviving, and of course deep factionalism over the proper form of belief. All of this is far from the life of a sixteen-year-old upper-class girl in Ephesus, but the plot takes us into that world. Athanasius is one of the most prominent figures of this time, and from what very little I know of him, I think Bradshaw did a great job depicting him.

But back to the center of the story. Charis is in love with medicine in a society that doesn't allow women to practice it. So she largely hides her interest, and then for much of the book hides who she is instead, and much of the novel is an outpouring of love for medical learning, and the practicalities of its practice in this age as well as a glimpse into the scholastic side of Alexandria.

This is an intensely character-driven novel, with Charis' first-person descriptions and relationships driving everything. With a couple exceptions for when larger events intrude on her life, and suddenly plot drives everything to lever it into the next major section. Some of that feels abrupt, because of the change in pacing, but overall, it's a wonderfully-written, very personal feeling novel, and another winner from Bradshaw.

[Phil · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a novel about an aristocratic girl, Charis, in Ephesus around 380 AD. Her father wants to marry her to a crony of the Emperor Valens, who has been appointed governor of the province. Festinus is a cruel and sadistic man and to avoid the marriage Charis cuts her hair, disguises herself as a eunuch (changing her name to Chariton) and flees to Alexandria to study medicine. Chariton is a prodigy and becomes the personal physician to the Nicene bishop Anthanasius (lauded by Gibbon) and involved in the chaos that follows his death. Chariton is exiled to an obscure fort on the Danube frontier and comes to be trusted by Fritigern, the Visigoth chieftain who rules north of the river. She also nurses a secret passion for Fritigern's cousin, Athanaric, who serves as a special agent of the Roman Emperor.When the Visigoths are allowed to cross the Danube to flee the onslaught of the Huns corrupt Roman officials cause them to revolt and Chariton falls into their hands, where she is revealed to be a woman. After the battle of Adrianople, which ends in the total destruction of the Roman army in the Balkans and the death of the Emperor Valens, Athanaric rescues Charis from the Goths and they live happily ever after. A great love story, a great historical novel. This book caused me to become interested in this period of Roman history. Bradshaw brings it vividly to life. She's a great storyteller and a good, solid, unpretentious writer.

[Ozymandias · Rating 5 out of 5]

Plot: 10 (engrossing at all points and compelling in overall thrust)
Characters: 10 (complex and memorable)
Accuracy: 10 (thorough and detailed even with obscure details)

A genuinely great novel set in the later Roman Empire. It's a complicated setting to place a novel in since the open autocracy and religious fanaticism of the period doesn't endear it to the average reader. This book however, doesn't really focus on all that (though it certainly shows up) but instead tries to portray everyday life as it would have been experienced by those at the time. There are a lot of these slice-of-life stories set in the early empire and Republic. Very few attempt this for the later empire. It's great to see somebody try to delve into it.

The basic plot is the story of a young woman who disguises herself as a eunuch to escape an unwanted marriage and study medicine in Alexandria. So already we're given four unique elements: an underexplored era/setting (Ephesus, Alexandria, and Thrace in the 370s), a female perspective, an essentially eunuch perspective (since she's treated as such for most of the book), and a depiction of ancient medical techniques and theories. All of these elements are handled well and there is much development of the themes that arise naturally from them. I actually found the eunuch's perspective to be so compelling I almost wish they'd just gone with that. We hardly even get a woman's perspective after all, since she spends most of the book in disguise, and eunuchs are often her most compelling characters.

The book is structured in clearly demarcated sections. In fact, a lot of the time it feels like three loosely connected novels sharing the same lead. The book is divided by location: her time in Ephesus as a noble's daughter, her time studying medicine in Alexandria, and her time as an army doctor on the Danubian frontier. Each region features a completely different cast of characters, although there is a bit of overlap.

I was quite impressed that the book tends to avoid the cliched plot points that might be expected to appear. One confrontation I was particularly dreading as it would derail whatever direction the plot was taking, but it never appeared even though it seemed so obvious a final showdown would happen. I like being surprised in this way. At least when my surprise is due to dispensing with unnecessary plot formulae and not to incompetence and failure to properly signpost necessary plot details. About the only failing here is the insertion of a completely unnecessary romantic subplot that both feels forced and as cliched as any of the mistakes it avoids. Having read a number of Bradshaw's books at this point I feel this is a common failing in her novels. She has to hook everyone up with a happy romantic match, no matter the appropriateness of it to the plot. Charis' closest real comparison is Hypatia, who taught philosophy in Alexandria about twenty years after this novel, and in order to maintain the respect of the men who studied under her she had to remain ostentatiously celibate since any romantic attachments would have prevented her from having any position beyond that of housewife, mother, and obedient servant to her husband. Bradshaw's quite open about the immense misogyny of Roman society elsewhere in the book, but she conveniently ignores it when it comes time to wrap up the novel and settle her down happily ever after. It's not great.

But any problems about individual plotpoints pale in view of the immensity of the work. It tells a coherent story about a woman's journey through the late Roman empire and it does so with class and style. It feels like a lived life rather than just a collection of stray facts and an adventure narrative. We get to see an entire area of Roman life that we're otherwise unfamiliar with. That alone makes the book worth reading. Even better are the collection of entertaining characters and peripheral glances at major events of the time. By the end you feel almost as if you've spent some time living in this foreign but sometimes familiar world. It's masterfully done. Highly recommended.

[ΔΕΣΠΟΙΝΑ Ντρέκη · Rating 5 out of 5]

Εξαιρετικό-μαγευτικό ιστορικό βιβλίο με υπέροχη γραφή και με μια υπέροχη μετάφραση. Από την αρχή μέχρι το τέλος η ανάγνωσή του ήταν απόλαυση. Η συγγραφέας εκτός από εξαιρετική ιστορικός είναι και μια έξοχη συγγραφέας. Η ηρωίδα της ζωνατνεύει μέσα από τις σελίδες του βιβλίου, καθώς και η Αλεξάνρεια, η Έφεσος, η Θράκη, οι μάχες, τα παλάτια. Κάθε φορά που διάβαζα ένιωθα τη μυρωδιά των ιατρικών βοτάνων και νόμιζα ότι θα εμφανισθεί ξαφνικά μια μεταμφιεσμένη σε ευνούχο κοπέλα με την οποία θα ανέλυα την πολιτική και θρησκευτική κατάσταση της Ρωμαϊκής Αυτοκρατορίας τον 4ο μ.Χ αιώνα, η οποία βρίσκεται στη δύση της. Επίσης θα με δίδασκε τις μεθόδους ιατρικής εκείνη την εποχή. Και φυσικά έχουμε και εναν έρωτα που γεννιέται μέσα στην μάχη. Ένα είναι σίγουρο μετά απο την ανάγνωση αυτού του βιβλίου: Θα αναζητήσω κι άλλα δικά της. Αν το πετύχεται κάπου αυτό το βιβλίο σας προτρέπω να το πάρετε. Δεν θα το μετανιώσετε.
"Έφεσος, 4ος αι. μ.Χ. Η νεαρή Χάρις, κόρη του ύπατου Θεοδώρου από την Έφεσο, εξαφανίζεται ένα μήνα πριν τον υποχρεωτικό γάμο της με ένα υψηλά ιστάμενο πολιτικό πρόσωπο.
Αλεξάνδρεια, 4ος αι. μ.Χ. Ο νεαρός Χαρίτωνας έχει μόλις φτάσει στην πόλη για να μάθει την ιατρική τέχνη. Παρά το μυστήριο που καλύπτει το παρελθόν του, ο Χαρίτωνας θα γίνει ο προσωπικός γιατρός του Αρχιεπισκόπου Αθανασίου, αλλά θα εμπλακεί και στις πολιτικές μηχανορραφίες της Αλεξάνδρειας, εξαιτίας των οποίων θα φυλακιστεί, θα διωχτεί και θα αναγκαστεί να καταφύγει στη Θράκη για να ασκήσει την ιατρική τέχνη.
Στη Θράκη όμως θα πρέπει να αντιμετωπίσει κάτι περισσότερο από τη σκληρότητα των στρατιωτικών νοσοκομείων: την αποκάλυψη της αληθινής του ταυτότητας και τις τραγικές συνέπειες για τη ζωή και την καριέρα του. Ο νεαρός Χαρίτωνας δεν είναι άλλος από τη Χάρις, κόρη του Θεόδωρου από την Έφεσο.
Σε έναν αιώνα μισαλλοδοξίας και βίαιων πολέμων, η Χάρις κατάφερε να στηριχτεί σε κάτι περισσότερο από την εμφάνιση της: την ικανότητα και την τέχνη της ως γιατρός."

[Emmy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really wonderfully done. The last line in the epilogue literally left me with chills: "the Fall of Rome was, for the west anyway, 'the greatest, perhaps, and most awful scene in the history of mankind."' Coming on the heels of this story, it was really excellently done. I mourned the empire's demise with the characters. I felt powerfully for many of the characters throughout the story. Particularly in the second half of the book, I was literally heartbroken for Charis at the idea of how unfair it was that she could not be both woman and doctor. Every injustice thrown at her had my hand itching to smack the person who was telling her no.

On top of the good story, it is clear that this author knows this period. This book is chock full of history and I can honestly saw that I learned a lot about the 4th century Roman Empire. In Alexandria she shows you about the struggle between sects of Christianity and Judaism and in Thrace she demonstrates how relations developed between Rome and the Visigoths. It was all fascinating and educational. Some of the information did bog down the story once or twice, but nothing too bad. Overall, really excellently done.

"Love is certainly a great god, to make two intelligent people look so foolish."

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I probably love this more than it deserves so feel torn how I should rate it. Is this a deathless historical classic such as Gone With the Wind, Name of the Rose or I, Claudius? No. Neither its style nor an ability to place me in a foreign, alien mindset places it in five star territory. Is this book and are Bradshaw's works in general great favorites I out and out love? You betcha.

Charis, the heroine and narrator of the tale is arguably too modern in her outlook--but it doesn't stop me from loving this story--one of those great "comfort reads" because you can immerse yourself in the narrative and love the characters. Charis is a woman who disguises herself as a eunuch so she can study medicine in the Alexandria of the late Roman Empire in the 370s. Besides the appeal of her story, it's interesting to have a look at this period, one still cosmopolitan and rich in learning, but on the brink of a dark age.

I own and enjoy other Bradshaw novels, such as Hawk of May (Athurian), Island of Ghosts (Roman Britain) and The Wolf Hunt (Medieval France, but more historical fantasy than historical fiction).

[Amy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I finally finished "The Beacon at Alexandria" by Gillian Bradshaw. It took me a really long time to read this book. I liked it fairly well, but it was long. It is only 350 pages long, but it felt like forever. Basically it is a story of a young woman in Ephesus during the third century who runs away from her about to be arranged marriage and goes to Alexandria to become a doctor. The rest of the story is her career and attempts to remain disguised as a eunuch. The idea was a good one, but I found the author's writing style to be tedious. Even the parts of the story that should have been exciting were written in a way that made them not exciting. I also had a hard time following the history and the Roman names made it difficult for me to read as quickly as I normally do. I had to stop and think about the name every time and that slowed down the progress of the story for me. I was also disappointed by the ending of the story. I liked the idea and the premise of the book, but the writing style was not exciting enough to make the book a truly enjoyable read.

[Savannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

It is very difficult to make a self-determined female in an historical setting not seem, at best, oxymoronic and at worst a puppet of modern sensibilities. Somehow, Gillian Bradshaw manages it in this eloquent, slow-moving yet motivating read about a woman who studies medicine in an otherwise restrictive world, eventually needing to disguise herself as a eunuch in order to continue practicing, while fighting an attraction to a male who may or may not understand her.

[Christina · Rating 4 out of 5]

Чудесен - макар и с леко старомодно усещане - приключенски роман с медицински мотиви (за мое съжаление доста слабо застъпени, очевидно авторката не се е впускала в много проучвания по темата и до втръсване повтаря само няколко билки).
Интересен исторически период и реално голяма част от действието се развива по нашите земи в Тракия, но няколко века преди създаване на българската държава.
Харис е силен женски образ (и много хубаво име, всъщност - на старогръцки означава радост, това не го пише в книгата :) Ако не бях Хедра, би ми харесало като ник) - и самата й история е достоверно звучаща, т.е. не е прекомерно фантастична и би могла да се случи при добро стечение на обстоятелствата. Вероятно е повлияна от истинската история за един военен лекар от 19 в, за който след смъртта му се установило, че всъщност е жена, при това е раждала в някой момент :)
Беше ми интересно и четох с удоволствие, което не ми се случва чак толкова често - историята като усещане доста прилича на моя любим епос The Physician на Ноа Гордън.
Краят беше реалистичен, с нотка на хепиенд за главните герои, но не и за империята - и с доста отворен финал, което също беше приятно изключение от правилата.

[Christina Dudley · Rating 5 out of 5]

An author friend recommended this book to me because I'd recommended a girl-disguised-as-a-boy historical fiction to her. This was wonderful! Probably my favorite read so far this year.

Charis, the daughter of a wealthy Ephesian nobleman, has always wanted to learn healing, and when she is threatened with a marriage she doesn't want, she concocts a plan to escape to Alexandria, posing as a eunuch, where she can study at their renowned "Museum."

Immersive historical fiction with no creaking scenery and only two data dumps I counted, one coming in an epilogue which is actually more of an afterword. Delightful characters, huge scope--I was sorry when it ended!

[Anna · Rating 3 out of 5]

This took me much longer to finish than it should have. It's not that I ever disliked the book, although after the first few pages I was quite concerned about the violence (it never got any worse), I just found it really slow to get into. In part I think it is because this is set in a historical time period that I am not particularly well acquainted with so getting up to speed on the setting took a while, it also took me some time to grow to love Charis/Charition. However the basic story is quite engaging and the pacing gets better after about the halfway mark.

[christina]

A part of The Hera Series by Soho Press

[La dame H السيدة هاء · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merveilleuse découverte 😍

[nats · Rating 5 out of 5]

Una historia que te enganchas desde la primera página y te mantiene atrapado hasta la última. Los conflictos a los que se tiene que enfrentar Caris, la protagonista, se suceden uno tras otro, y es maravilloso ver cómo va creciendo a lo largo de la novela. Una de mis lecturas favoritas sin ninguna duda.

[Riccarla Roman · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love history, but lately I've been reading a lot of Tudor England books. This book was completely different in time period, but the desire for sex, money, and power was still the same.

Charis of Ephesus is the daughter of a prominent citizen of Ephesus. Her brother wants to be a lawyer and she wants to be a physician. Of course, this is not possible in Ephesus a of centuries after Christ.

The new governor accuses her father of possibly trying to overthrow the Emperor. Her quick thinking helps her father but brings her to the attention of the governor. He makes an inappropriate assault and offers marriage. This guy is so foul that Charis is willing to disguise herself as a eunuch and sail to Alexandria, the center of knowledge and culture in the known world. She hopes to study medicine and apprentice with an established doctor. Due to ancient prejudices about eunuchs, she is rejected by all the leading men of medicine. Finally, Philon, a Jewish doctor, agrees to teach her.

The book follows her journey from apprentice to doctor as she tries to avoid the political and religious conflicts of the day along with keeping her true gender a secret.

This was a very complex time - unrest in the Roman Empire as it was losing its empire, upheaval in the Church as all faiths are persecuted by someone, and urgency to improve medicine as people on all sides of any issue find themselves facing illness in a time period where the slightest remark could cost you your head (or other body parts).

This a great albeit slow read. I had to read slower than usual in order to understand what was being done and how it affected the charactiers. Charis is fascinating and her struggles resonate with our modern world. There are two more books in the series and I can't wait to read them.

[Gelisvb · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the story of a patrician girl living in Efeso in 371 d.c whose dream is to become a doctor, even if it was not allowed for women.
Her chance to follow her dream arrives when she is forced to marry an undesired suitor: she disguise herself as an eunuch and she leaves for Alessandra, the cultural capital of the empire.
The story follows ten years of her life, the beauty and the decadence of the Roman empire, the poilitics, the religious conflicts, the military camps, the behinning of barbaric invasions.
it's a beautiful portrait of an age, in this book it is give much importance to the description of what it mean to live in that times.
More important it's a story about determination and the importance of standing up for yourself and not letting other people tell you what you be. Charis is a great and belivable character and I enjoyed very much reading about her struggles to become what she wanted to be.

[Joy · Rating 5 out of 5]

Re-read 7/1/09. I continue to re-read my favorites of Bradshaw's novels, and am glad to discover that this one is also as good as I remember. Bradshaw is very good at drawing out all the complexities of Charis's situation: there are no easy solutions in which Charis gets to have it all. I suspect I should be a bit cynical about the romance subplot (which fortunately does not take over the entire book), but I guess I'm secretly sentimental about such things after all.

[Celeste · Rating 5 out of 5]

*NO LEAN LA SINOPSIS de la novela ! es un completo spoiler.*

Caris de Éfeso quiere aprender medicina, a pesar de las dificultades del siglo IV, ella hará lo imposible hasta cumplir con su deseo de aprender y ser médico.
Amé la novela!♥ espero que la otras novelas de Gillian Bradshaw sean tan buenas como el faro de Alejandría! no es una novela centrada en romances, aunque si hay alguito por allí ;) .
Recomendada a todas las personas que le guste leer ficción- histórica.

[Stephanie C · Rating 4 out of 5]

A cross between Francine Rivers' Mark of the Lion series and Rosemary Sutcliff (setting and writing-wise). The plot was not quite as heart-wrenching as anything I've read by Rivers or Sutcliff, but included plenty of desperate events and unpleasant things. Despite this, the book never depressed me, the characters (especially Charis) were glorious and it had a nice ending. I'll read more by Bradshaw.

[Patrick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The fundamental story line is good if somewhat formulaic (well-heeled young woman runs away in disguise to break with convention and become more than societal structures would allow). What makes this a really good read is the richly drawn history of Alexandria and Thrace as the Roman empire is beginning to collapse. The descriptions of people and the social dynamics among groups bring this history alive and kept me reading late into the evening.

[Mely · Rating 4 out of 5]

2024 reread.

I like the (too lightly sketched) romance better than most people do, but it almost doesn't matter whether that element interests you or not; the true love affair in The Beacon at Alexandria is between Charis and Medicine.
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2015. Re-read. My favorite of Bradshaw's novels.

[Gwendolyn Cayad · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had very high expectations of this book because of the 4-5 stars rating, but I was not so impressed because the ending was predictable and the writing style was flat. It was an exciting idea though, about a woman practicing medicine in ancient Alexandria.

[Debbie Gascoyne · Rating 5 out of 5]

mmmm. This is one of my all time favourite books. Rereading it is like settling in for a delightful evening with an old friend.