Search - Household Gods

Nicole Gunther-Perrin, a California lawyer and divorced mother of two, thinks her life is rough, what with on-the-job sexual harassment, an ex- who's late with his child support, and bratty kids.
Somehow, she gets the pea-brained idea that life would have been better in the Roman Empire. Ah, for those simple, bucolic times!
With the help of an ancient plaque of a god & goddess that she picked up on her honeymoon, the teetotalling, prissy, christian, politically correct Nicole is zapped back to the 2nd century AD, into the body of a widowed tavern-keeper.

It doesn't take her long to learn that Roman times were not the haven of equality and justice that she imagined. Gradually, as she comes to adjust to the shock, filth, licentiousness, lack of health care, violence & etc... of ancient times, she also learns a lot about life, love, friendship and coping with difficulties.

It's a bit hard to believe how ignorant a well-educated modern character like Nicole is about the realities of life during Roman times, and I do disagree with a few of the authors "messages" - such as that children need corporal punishment to be disciplined (Kids aren't stupid. Explanations of WHY they shouldn't do something are liable to go a lot further than a smack.) But overall I found this to be a really entertaining read.

I usually don't like time travel books, but this one was delightful. A woman wakes up in ancient Rome.