Statia Mitela who features in ‘The Idealist’, the third HEROICA story, a dual timeline story, is undoubtedly rash. But she’s also courageous and altruistic.
Unlike the two other heroines featuring in HEROICA, she isn’t serving in the military, but is a senator and head of the powerful Mitela family in the mid 19th century. She has a daughter Leonia.
The Idealist is set in a turbulent time of revolutions. The 19th century, which began with the Napoleonic wars, Nelson’s invincible navy and the Battle of Waterloo, saw British and European society and economies transformed by 1900, largely due to scientific advances and industrialisation, but equally to social moments and reforms.
But 1848 was the year of revolutions in Europe; many of the events spread into 1849. In Italy, Giuseppe Mazzini was an Italian politician, philosopher, activist and a lead architect of the Risorgimento, the movement to unite Italy’s many small states and dukedoms into one nation.
Success on the path to unification was followed by failure followed by success followed by failure, but gradually states and cities in the Italian Peninsula merged into larger blocks that eventually came together as one Italian state in 1871.
One significant step was the founding of a new Roman Republic in February 1849. Statia Mitela, in distant Roma Nova, was excited by the return of the ancient capital as the centre of a new republic organised on Ancient Roman lines. But it only survived until July that same year. Desperate to save the principal creator of that republic – Mazzini – at any cost, she resolved to ride to Rome to save him. But naïvely, she forgot about the political pressures on Roma Nova at the time and the consequences of her actions.
Statia stood up for her ideals and had the courage to take steps to act according to them. But things don’t always turn out as we hope.
Discover much more about Statia’s story in HEROICA
Alison Morton is the author of Roma Nova thrillers – INCEPTIO, CARINA (novella), PERFIDITAS, SUCCESSIO, AURELIA, NEXUS (novella), INSURRECTIO and RETALIO, and ROMA NOVA EXTRA, a collection of short stories. JULIA PRIMA and EXSILIUM, set in the late 4th century, tell the story of Roma Nova’s foundation. Audiobooks are available for four of the series. Double Identity and Double Pursuit start a new contemporary thriller series. The third, Double Stakes is now out.
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