DIDO - Queen of Tyre and Carthage

THIS historical novel, which took eight years to research, recounts the romantic and adventurous story of Dido, Queen of Tyre and founder of Carthage.

Dido’s story is entwined with her confrontation against the overwhelming power of the cruel Assyrians, the orgies of the Hittites and the changes that took place in the Egyptian kingdom.

The Phoenicians were celebrated as seafarers and merchants; they traded in purple dye – a formula they kept secret, olive oil and wine, and they had great navigational skills. But they practised child sacrifice and sacred prostitution.

Carthage, the metropolis that Dido founded on the African coast, inherited the greatness but also the cruelty of the Phoenicians.

THE AUTHOR
Gaia Servadio was born in Italy but has lived mostly in London, where she completed her studies.

When she was 15, her first article was published, A Letter from London, which developed into a regular column. She worked for the BBC and for most of the British quality press (The Times, Sunday Times, Observer and The Telegraph group).

She has had 18 books published. Her first novel, Melinda ((Tanto Gentile e Tanto Onesta), was translated into 18 languages and was an international bestseller. The subjects of her essays and novels include the Mafia and the Phoenicians. Her poetry has been published in the UK, Italy and Canada.

Gaia Servado has also worked for the London Symphony Orchestra and the Massimo Opera House in Palermo, organizing Claudio Abbado’s Mahler Festival in London and Hans Werner Henze’s Amici della Musica.