Parthenon statues, powerful women inspire Karen Essex

Los Angeles-based writer Karen Essex is fascinated with women and antiquity. Her latest novel, Stealing Athena, uses a dual narrative to explore the complex and involving story behind the Elgin Marbles, the statues that once adorned the Parthenon in Athens. At one end of the historical tale stands Mary Nesbit, Countess of Elgin, whose husband brought the statues to England at the turn of the 19th century. more from lifestyle »