The Mirror of Diana.

The Mirror of Diana

A.R. Homer

Llumina Press

8055 West McNab Road, Tamarac, FL 33321

ISBN: 1932560637 $13.95 256 pages

"To all the treasures lost in war" reads the dedication of The Mirror of Diana, a novel that has as its centerpiece a major, yet little-remembered, archaeological disaster of World War II: the mysterious burning of the monumental ships of the Roman Emperor Caligula as the German army retreated from Rome. Having been for many years intrigued by this mystery, I chose this book for my summer reading list. But I found in it much more than fascinating archaeological background-I found a novel as touching as it is exciting, and one that breaks many of the rules. A German officer in love with an Italian woman? A good German?

Klaus Schmidt, an artillery officer and a lover of antiquities, is the protagonist. In 1943 in Nemi, a small town south of Rome, Klaus visits the ancient ships of Caligula, housed in a museum by the side of Lake Nemi, whence they were recovered a decade earlier in an engineering feat almost as remarkable as the ships themselves. (Lake Nemi, incidentally, was the setting of the Temple of Diana, the bizarre rituals of which inspired Sir James Frazer's classic, The Golden Bough.)

At the museum, Paolo, the ship museum's curator, overcomes his dread of his German visitor (by September 1943, the Germans were no longer allies of Italy but occupiers) and discovers a kindred spirit in Klaus, who is also bewitched by the ships. The two develop a warm friendship, although Paolo's dread returns as his daughter, Rosanna, and Klaus are inexorably drawn to each other. Klaus and Rosanna's deepening love leads to complications that worsen exponentially as the pages fly by.

"The Mirror of Diana" was the name by which the ancient Romans called Lake Nemi, the cobalt-blue, perfectly spherical crater lake in which the Temple of Diana was reflected. In the novel it is a double entendre--it is also a priceless artifact Paolo has found, a silver mirror upon which is carved the legend of Diana and Acteon, a metaphor for the theme of the book: "It not only embodied the myth of Diana, it embodied the eternal human conflict--of mind versus heart, of need versus want, of duty versus love. Since the birth of the gods it was ever thus."

Writing in clean and elegant prose, A.R. Homer evokes a vivid image of wartime Italy and draws the reader into the thoughts and feelings of the characters: "?Klaus looked across the folding field desk on which stood a family photograph; he thought of his own family and the legions of families that peered out from such pictures to German soldiers all over Europe. For how long would they have to trace their fingers over the cold images instead of embracing the living warmth?"

The author breathes life into all the characters. The idealistic Klaus often vacillates and broods while Rosanna, although brave and determined, displays the immaturity of youth. Maria, Paolo's unsentimental and survival-focused wife, is in sharp contrast to her husband, whose head-in-the-clouds obsession with the safety of the ships triggers more than one round of henpecking. Gianni, the street-smart and ever-hungry urchin, is wise beyond his years. Gunther, Klaus's savvy sergeant, longs to be back on the farm in Bavaria, but until then believes that just following orders is the simplest way to survive (a philosophy that has brutal consequences). But Dressler, the SS commander with whom Klaus locks horns, made my stomach lurch every time he appeared on the scene: "Dressler's extended arm lowered as it pointed an invitation through the large door, like some black vulture arrogantly inviting his prey to dinner."

This book will appeal to a wide audience. It is well-researched and will be appreciated by those interested in World War II and in antiquities. But this fascinating book will attract all who like pulsating historical fiction: the breathtaking plot twists and the relentless suspense will hold the reader in thrall. And, of course, the poignant story of the star-crossed lovers will appeal to the romantic in all of us. I give The Mirror of Diana my highest recommendation.