EURYALE in its 2007 Juno edition is a reprint of the 1988 novel by Kara Dalkey. Educated in both anthropology and fashion design, Ms. Dalkey has been a folksinger, artist, historic fiction writer, and children’s author.

EURYALE is a love story that capitalizes on the romance of the beauty and the beast, but without the easy Disney solution for a happily ever after ending. Euryale is a newcomer to Republican Rome and rumored to be a wealthy but eccentric widow. Carefully sustaining the rumors, she dresses modestly and does her best not to draw attention to herself and motley crew of servants. Yet before long her life is under scrutiny when it becomes known that she is seeking out sorcerers, witches, and others in an effort to find an answer to her quest for changing stone into living flesh. Why would a wealthy widow want to know? Why does she have a carefully protected statue in her garden? Why is her staff mostly blind?

EURYALE is beautifully written and captures the essence that was the mistrust of foreigners and the greed to gobble up their exotic habits that characterized Rome in its heyday. Kara Dalkey succeeds in painting a picture with but a few words that other authors require hundreds of pages to accomplish. Her blending of romance, mythology, philosophy and folktale story telling makes this a very pleasing read that will captivate the booklover from page one. Do not miss out on the reprint of this great novel!