Book Review: THE CLEANSING (A Novel of Ancient Rome Based on a True Story) by Victoria Alvea

 

*Editorial Book Review*

THE CLEANSING

(A Novel of Ancient Rome Based on a True Story)

by Victoria Alvea

Publication Date: 20th January 2026
Publisher: Hypatia Press
Print Length: 261 Pages
Genre: Ancient World Historical Fiction

Based on a true story, this is not the enlightened Rome of myth. This is a city choking on fear, where blood flows on both the battlefield and altar, and where generals and politicians alike are desperate to appease rageful gods.

When 50,000 Romans fall in a single day at the Battle of Cannae, priests claim there can be only one reason the gods abandoned Rome: a Vestal Virgin has broken her vow of chastity. And they accuse Opimia (Mia), the strongest, most defiant of the six sacred Vestal priestesses.

Forced as a child into serving Vesta, the goddess of fire, Mia has always chafed against Rome’s control of her every move—especially after being separated from her childhood love, Attius. Now, accused of a crime she did not commit, she must defend herself in a hostile court to avoid being buried alive for her “crime.”

Betrayed by the high priestess, hunted by Rome’s political and religious elite, Mia must either accept her fate — or join with the Sybil of Cumae to expose the truth behind a world built on superstition, fear, and lies.

A story of personal awakening amid public catastrophe, The Cleansing is a haunting journey through a city at war with itself — and a woman who risks everything to survive it.

"A frightened people will always side with the powerful, if they believe the powerful will protect them in some way. Even when they actively hurt them. The promise of safety and protection was more potent than the strongest poppy tincture. If I dashed their hope, they would turn on me like maenads on Orpheus."

“The Cleansing” by Victoria Alvear is a powerful and unsettling work of historical fiction, based on a true story, that immerses the reader in Ancient Rome at a moment of collective trauma and moral collapse. Set in the aftermath of the catastrophic defeat at Cannae in 216 BCE, the novel explores how a civilisation responds when its faith, identity, and sense of divine favour are shattered.

From the opening battlefield scenes, the novel is uncompromising in its realism. The chaos, terror, and brutality of war are rendered with striking immediacy, placing the reader shoulder to shoulder with Roman soldiers as Hannibal’s forces close in. These scenes do more than depict violence; they establish the emotional devastation that ripples through Rome long after the fighting ends. Loss is not confined to the battlefield—it permeates every ritual, every decision, and every whispered fear within the city.

At the heart of the story is Mia, a Vestal Virgin bound by sacred duty in a society governed by fear of divine retribution. Through her eyes, the reader is drawn into the ritualised world of Roman religion—the October Horse, the sacred fire of Vesta, and the ominous authority of the Sibylline Books. Alvear deftly reveals how faith, when combined with political expediency, becomes a dangerous instrument. Most chilling of all is the ever-present fear of being accused of crimen incestum, a threat that hangs over the Vestals like a blade, shaping their every action and thought.

What makes “The Cleansing” especially compelling is its intellectual depth. The novel weaves philosophical reflection into the narrative, quietly challenging notions of divine justice, fate, and moral responsibility. The tension between belief and reason, obedience and conscience, is ever-present, giving the story a resonance that extends far beyond its historical setting.

As a reader, I found this novel deeply moving. I was completely drawn into its world, feeling the weight of Rome’s grief and panic as though it were my own. The fear that grips the city after Cannae felt suffocating, and I could not help but empathise with a society desperate for answers and lost in grief.

The novel also casts an unflinching light on the treatment of women and the powerless during this period. Grief itself becomes regulated, as women are arrested for breaking the law by crying or wailing in public when they realise that husbands, sons, or brothers have died. Their sorrow is treated not as a natural human response but as a threat to order, silenced in the name of control. These moments quietly but powerfully underscore how suffering was managed, contained, and punished when it challenged authority.

I felt the relentless pressure bearing down on Mia, the constant vigilance demanded in a world where the gods had been weaponised and even the smallest perceived misstep could cause divine provocation, their anger believed capable of raining devastation down upon Rome itself. That crushing responsibility reshaped faith into fear and devotion into an act of survival. Reading Mia’s experiences filled me with both anger and sorrow—anger at how readily innocence can be sacrificed to preserve order, and sorrow at how easily injustice is accepted when it is cloaked in the promise of protection.

This is one of those novels that lingers. I found myself returning again and again to its themes: fear as a tool of power, faith as both refuge and prison, and the devastating cost of being reduced to a symbol rather than recognised as human. “The Cleansing” challenged me, unsettled me, and impressed me with its courage and intelligence. It is a beautifully written, thought-provoking novel that I wholeheartedly give five stars and highly recommend to lovers of immersive, serious historical fiction.

Review by Mary Anne Yare
The Coffee Pot Book Club

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Victoria Alvea

Vicky/Victoria is the author of multiple books set in or about the ancient world. She writes as Vicky Alvear Shecter for children and as Victoria Alvear for adults. Her latest release, The Cleansing, is a gritty, dark historical fiction for adults. It is based on the true story of an ancient Roman Vestal Virgin priestess accused of “having sex” and thus blamed for the massacre of 50,000 soldiers in one day at the Battle of Cannae. She defends herself in court against hostile religious leaders who are determined to have her punished for her so-called “crime”–which requires her to be buried alive.

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