The bulk of The Wolf Den takes place in the location that gives the book its name, the lupanar or brothel, and follows the story of a group of prostitutes-colloquially referred to as “she-wolves”-who work there.
(Perhaps one that feels all the more vibrant and desperate for the fact that we know it will all be gone so very soon.) From the crowded bars and dirty alleyways to the colorful marketplaces and lush private homes, every aspect of this world is fully realized right down to the ground. Set in Pompeii during the first century AD, just a scant few years before the famous volcanic eruption that will encase the city in lava and ash, this is nevertheless a story that is positively teeming with life. But it’s also like almost nothing else that exists in this genre at present, carefully drawing contemporary parallels that will feel deeply familiar in a world where modern women still must fight far too hard for autonomy, equality, and the right to feel both safe in and in charge of their own bodies. Yes, The Wolf Den is brutal in its violence and unflinching in its depiction of the many horrors and indignities poor women, slaves, and other marginalized groups of this time must have faced. (Thank goodness it’s set to be the first installment in a trilogy, is what I’m saying.)Īn incredibly well-written and clearly deeply researched tale, Harper’s debut is both a fascinating tale in its own right and an important reclaiming of the sorts of stories from history we far too rarely get to hear. Clocking in at nearly 500 pages, her novel The Wolf Den is an enthralling, exhilarating read from its first page to its last, rooted in both archeological fact and emotional truth.
But clearly, none of us saw Elodie Harper coming. On paper, the idea that a historical novel about the lives of a group of prostitutes in a Pompeii brothel is actually one of the year’s most strident tales of female empowerment seems as though it should be fairly ridiculous.
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