Ben Pastor: Ben Pastor, born in Italy, lived for thirty years in the United States, working as a university professor in Vermont. She is the author of other novels including The Water Thief and The Fire Walker (set in Roman times and published to high acclaim in the US by St. Martin’s Press), and is considered one of the most talented writers in the field of historical fiction. In 2008 she won the prestigious Premio Zaragoza for best historical fiction. She writes in English.