High City

It is the early years of the reign of Basil II, who became one most successful, and most feared, Byzantine emperors. But for now, Basil rules as a co-emperor with his brother Constantine, and makes war on a would-be usurper, Bardas Phokas, son of a General who Basil supplanted.

Basils most trusted troops are foreign mercenaries, the Varangian guard hired from the North.  Rus and Norsemen, Viking raiders and wild horsemen from the steppes, they fall upon the elegant city of Constantinople like wolves on a garden party.  Among them is the wily young son of an Irish slave, who comes to the notice of the emperors wife. But being noticed by an angry emperor is not safe at all.

"[Holland has] the hard, sharp lines of a master storyteller. She seems remarkably skillful at portraying the masculine mind."                       

--Houston Chronicle

"We have come to expect rich, vivid historical novels from prolific Cecelia Holland, and this one, set in ninth century Constantinople, more than fulfills that expectation.  We observe the legendary Byzantine duplicity through the eyes of our honorable barbarian hero as he tries to unravel the intrigue. Swiftly moving, plausible, and with just the right amount of historical details to make scenes come clear, the novel is an engrossing tale."         

--Publishers Weekly on The Belt of Gold

Cecelia Holland is widely acknowledged as one of the finest historical novelists of our time. She is the author of more than thirty novels, including The Angel and the Sword, Jerusalem, Lily Nevada, and The Kings in Winter. Holland lives in Humboldt County, in northern California, where she teaches creative writing, and is current at work on a new historical novel.