`A major contribution to twenty-first-century literature' Toni Morrison, Nobel Laureate and author of Beloved

In the year 70 CE, nine hundred Jews held out for months against the Roman army in ancient Israel. Only two women and five children survived.

Based on this tragic event, Alice Hoffman weaves a spellbinding story about the lives of four bold and remarkable women during desperate days of the siege of Masada, when supplies are dwindling and the Romans are drawing near.

Yael is the assassin's daughter, Revka's life has been torn apart by the Romans, Aziza has been raised as a warrior and Shirah is wise in the ways of ancient magic. All are dovekeepers, and all are keepers of secrets - about who they are, where they come from, who fathered them, and whom they love.

The Dovekeepers is Alice Hoffman's masterpiece.

Praise for The Dovekeepers

`Hoffman is a writer of great perception and she captures with precision the complexity of the relationships between the women, their fear and guilt, their courage, their hunger for consolation and companionship' Guardian

`Fascinating . . . Hoffman's grasp of her subject compels respect' Helen Dunmore, The Times

`A book as monumental as its subject, magical, moving, quite beautifully written and probably Hoffman's best. A genuine masterpiece' Daily Mail

`I would share the incredible creative power and intense imagination of Alice Hoffman, whose novel The Dovekeepersshows just how far and deep historical fiction can go' Observer, `What Will Be Under Your Tree This Christmas'