The Dovekeepers Summary
Alice Hoffman

The Dovekeepers Overview

Rather than surrender to or be captured by Roman forces the Sicarii, a group of religious Zealots who took refuge at Masada in first century Judea, chose to sacrifice themselves. The story of life in this last stronghold in the war between the Jews and the Romans is told in the novel “The Dovekeepers” by Alice Hoffman. Instead of focusing on the men who fought the Romans, this account of historical fiction tells the stories of four women as they struggled to take care of their families and support the men whom they loved. Themes in the novel include religion, female relationships and the idea that one’s fate ruled his life.