Books > The Virgin's Tale

The idea for the book originated while I was taking a summer course at the University of Winnipeg on ‘Magic in Ancient Rome and Ancient Greece.’ Under the encouragement of the professor of the course, I wrote the first few pages.

I was drawn to the subject because there is little known about the Vestal Virgins though they were a long-standing state cult. I think this is pretty much why I wanted to write about them, to sort of sate my own curiosity. I just couldn’t help but wonder, what sort of impact it would have on a child to be given up by her parents to become a priestess, what sort of woman would she grow into? What sort of coping mechanisms might someone develop in order to stand around and watch a fire, day in and day out? What would the dynamics be like between the six Vestal Virgins, who would have been outwardly privileged, but isolated from the rest of society? And of course, I also couldn’t help but wonder what would lead a vestal virgin to risk such a horrifying punishment?