As a historical fiction novel, Anna of Byzantium is meant to expose middle grade readers to the history of the Byzantine Empire. What did you know about Byzantine history before reading the book, if anything, and how has your perspective shifted after reading it? Are any elements of their society similar to the modern world?

Is Anna a sympathetic protagonist? How does she become more of a complex character throughout the story? Use examples from the text to support your answer.

The nuns that Anna lives with represent a starkly different archetype of Byzantine femininity than the imperial women that she grew up with (including herself). Write an essay comparing and contrasting these two groups of women in the text. What do the differences and similarities suggest about femininity in the Byzantine Empire more broadly?