Arethusa

"Arethusa" by F. Marion Crawford is a historical novel that drops you into 14th century Constantinople, following Carlo Zeno, a Venetian merchant with a mysterious history, as he deals with social class and the city’s tricky politics. The book explores ideas about who we are, how to stay alive, and the gap between the rich and the poor through its characters. As the story begins, Zeno settles into his role as a merchant in Constantinople after a difficult past. He watches the bustling city around him, full of lively cultures and arguments between different groups. As the story develops, Zeno gets a letter from a friend in Venice, asking him to buy a slave girl for his wife. This event kicks start the examination of human relationships affected by slavery. At the same time, we meet a young girl named Zoë, who lives in extreme poverty with her sick mother, and her future becomes closely tied to Zeno’s choice about the slave market. This beginning sets the stage for how the characters' lives connect and the tough ethical choices they have to make.