This was just lovely. It had a little bit of a slow start for me but I just *loved* the concept of Lavinia's very existence being dependent on her poet *and yet* here is this whole beautiful story about her. The author's note at the end once again made the book even more impactful for me, reading about the research that she did to make everything read true for locations and distances. Particularly loved the emphasis on the Lares and Penates at the exclusion of all the other gods, it gave the story a very "these are real people living their lives" quality.