History Literature / TheWolfDenTrilogy

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: Felix’s father is supposedly the brothel’s previous owner, but given that he is literally a SonOfAWhore, there’s no way of knowing. Later, Amara bears a child whose legal father is not her biological father.

* ScarpiaUltimatum: In the final chapters of the series, Amara is pressured to sleep with her blackmailer and sell her body on his behalf, lest the blackmailer reveal [[spoiler: to her patron Demetrius that she faked her own death to start a new life with a slave who is living illegally as a freedman.]]

* Blackmail: Felix learns of Amara's secret love affair and uses the knowledge to extort money from her.

* ShamelessFanserviceGirl: Victoria seems to be the least bothered about baring herself to customers. She also participates in a very public and erotic dance-off with her rival Drauca.

* WouldHitAGirl: Felix, Rufus, Domitian all physically assault women in their lives, or [[SinisterSuffocation even]][[DisposableSexWorker worse]].

* WouldHitAGirl: Felix, Rufus, Domitian all physically assault women in their lives, or [[SinisterSuffocation even worse]].

* CelibateEccentricGenius: Pliny the Elder never married or had any children, and when he hires Amara as a concubine, he [[PlatonicProstitution is more interested in asking her about birth control]] than having sex with her. His single-minded focus on his work causes others to perceive him as eccentric. Still, he is a very intelligent and insatiably curious man who is compiling his ''Natural History'' when he and Amara first meet.

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Pliny the Elder is an unusual client. In the novel, he is in the process of compiling his ''Natural History'' and has a [[PlatonicProstitution purely academic]] interest in hiring Amara. When he asks to examine her anatomy, he means it in an utterly non-sexual manner. While Amara is staying with him, Pliny treats her politely and becomes rather fond of her.

* RichSuitorPoorSuitor: Amara’s heart belongs to Menander, a potter’s slave, but she has also attracted the wealthy Rufus, who could offer her a way out of the brothel.

* SlaveBrand: Fortunata covers hers with heavy makeup.

We first meet Amara as a she-wolf, a [[TheOldestProfession prostitute]] at the infamous lupanar in Pompeii. She used to be the beloved only child of a respected doctor, but now she is forced to sell her body for the benefit of her master Felix. Life in the brothel is brutal, yet she manages to survive with the help of fellow she-wolves [[TheIngenue Dido]], [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Victoria]], [[TeamMom Cressa]], and [[SarcasmBlind Beronice]]. But Amara isn’t content to just survive. She is determined [[IJustWantToBeFree to regain her freedom]], no matter the cost. Using her innate talent, cunning, and occasional cruelty, she sets about escaping the brothel. Along the way, Amara becomes entangled with characters ranging from humble slaves like Menander to illustrious personages like Pliny the Elder and even the emperor of Rome.

* ParentalAbandonment: Amara mourns for her [[DisappearedDad deceased father]] and has [[DeceasedParentsAreTheBest nothing but fond memories of him]]. She even misses her [[MissingMom mother]], who sold her into slavery (granted, Amara was sold to ensure her survival) and has probably starved to death since.

* BornIntoSlavery: A good number of the slaves and freedmen in the series were born as slaves. From the main cast, this includes Victoria (presumably, as she was found [[DoorstopBaby exposed on a garbage heap]]), Beronice, Felix, Fabia, and Paris.

* TheDividual: Ipstilla and Telethusa always appear together and aren’t given distinct personalities.

* MamasBabyPapasMaybe: Felix’s father is supposedly the brothel’s previous owner, but given that he is literally a SonOfAWhore, there’s no way of knowing.

* SpicyLatina: Ipstilla and Telethusa are Spanish dancers trained in Cadiz. They are not given many lines, but Ipstilla is not above wrestling a rival prostitute in the street and both women are sexually forward enough to shock even [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Victoria]].

* GladiatorGames: The she-wolves attend a day of government-sponsored gladiator games. Amara only stays for the [[BeastlyBloodsports beast hunts]].

* MeaningfulGift: Pliny gives Amara a copy of Herophilos’ ''On Pulses'' at the end of her stay. She used to read Herophilos to her [[DisappearedDad father]] before his death. At the very end, Amara sends Felix a statuette of Diana, referencing a scene from early in the book.
* MeaningfulRename: Timarete is given the slave-name Amara. When she is freed, she becomes Gaia Plinia Amara, ''Liberta''.

* IWantToBeARealMan: Paris is insecure in his masculinity due to being a PrettyBoy sent down to entertain clients with the women. He jumps at the chance to prove his toughness toward the end of the book.

We first meet Amara as a she-wolf, a [[TheOldestProfession prostitute]] at the infamous lupanar in Pompeii. She used to be the beloved only child of a respected doctor, but now she is forced to sell her body for the benefit of her master Felix. Life in the brothel is brutal, yet she manages to survive with the help of fellow she-wolves [[TheIngenue Dido]], [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Victoria]], [[TeamMom Cressa]], and [[SarcasmBlind Beronice]]. But Amara isn’t content to just survive. She is determined [[IJustWantToBeFree to regain her freedom]], no matter the cost. Using her innate talent, cunning, and occasional cruelty, she sets about escaping the brothel. Along the way, Amara becomes entangled with characters ranging from humble slaves like Menander to illustrious personages like Pliny the Elder.

The latter two books follow Amara’s life as a freedwoman. Using the same wits that earned her freedom, she goes from a [[TheMistress kept woman]] in Pompeii to an [[HighClassCallGirl influential courtesan]] in the imperial palace of Rome. But despite her success, she remains tied to the Wolf Den, to the friends and enemies she made there. Will all her newfound wealth and power be enough to save her loved ones from Vesuvius’s looming eruption?

* AncientRome: Specifically, Pompeii in the years leading up to the infamous eruption of Vesuvius.

* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Britannica is unusually tall and muscular for a woman in Pompeii, in line with Roman reports of “giant” Northern Europeans and British warrior women like {{UsefulNotes/Boudica}}). When the girls take her out fishing for clients, she deters potential customers not just with her physique, but by baring her teeth and ''hissing'' at them.

* MorningSickness: How the audience finds out about Cressa’s pregnancy.

* NoGuyWantsAnAmazon: Britannica is unusually tall and muscular for a woman in Pompeii (based on Roman reports of “giant” Northern Europeans and British warrior women like {{UsefulNotes/Boudica}}). When the girls take her out fishing, she deters potential customers not just with her physique, but by baring her teeth and ''hissing'' at them.

''The Wolf Den Trilogy'' is a series by Elodie Harper. The first book in the series is ''The Wolf Den'', followed by ''The House with the Golden Door'' (2022) and ''The Temple of Fortuna'' (2023). The series charts the course of Amara, a young woman from Attica, after she is [[MadeASlave enslaved]] and sent to Pompeii to work as a prostitute.

* BodyPaint: Dido and Amara buy a pot of gold paste or their performances and share it around. The Spanish dancers Ipstilla and Telethusa make their grand debut wearing nothing but this gold paste.

* CagedBirdMetaphor: Not a cage ''per se'', but Drusilla compares Amara to a wounded bird cupped in Rufus’ hands. Pliny later argue for Amara’s freedom by explaining that birds need to be free to fly. This letter leads Rufus to refer to Amara as his “little bird” while keeping her in the [[GildedCage house with the golden door]].

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Pliny the Elder is an unusual client. In the novel, the revered scholar is in the process of compiling his ''Natural History'' and has a [[PlatonicProstitution purely academic]] interest in hiring Amara. When he asks to examine her anatomy, he means it in a completely non-sexual manner. While Amara is staying with him, Pliny treats her politely and becomes rather fond of her.

* GentlemanAndAScholar: Pliny the Elder an unusual client. In the novel, the revered scholar is in the process of compiling his ''Natural History'' and has a [[PlatonicProstitution purely academic]] interest in hiring Amara. When he asks to examine her anatomy, he means it in a completely non-sexual manner. While Amara is staying with him, Pliny treats her politely and becomes rather fond of her.

We first meet Amara as a she-wolf, a [[TheOldestProfession prostitute]] at the infamous lupanar in Pompeii. She used to be the beloved only child of a respected doctor, but now she is forced to sell her body for the benefit of her master Felix. Life in the brothel is brutal, yet she manages to survive with the help of fellow she-wolves [[TheIngenue Dido]], [[ShamelessFanserviceGirl Victoria]], [[TeamMom Cressa]], and [[SarcasmBlind Beronice]]. But Amara isn’t content to just survive. She is [[{{Determinator}} determined]] [[IJustWantToBeFree to regain her freedom]], no matter the cost. Using her innate talent, cunning, and occasional cruelty, she sets about escaping the brothel. Along the way, Amara becomes entangled with characters ranging from humble slaves like Menander to illustrious personages like Pliny the Elder.

* PartingWordsRegret: Dido remembers complaining to her cousin about her engagement to a man who sells cheese just before they were kidnapped and enslaved by pirates. She [[NeverGotToSayGoodbye never even got to say goodbye]] to her family, but instead spent her last moments in Carthage feeling sorry for herself. [[DramaticIrony If only she knew how bad it would get]].

* JerkassWoobie: Paris is a massive jerk, but he’s also been sexually abused from a young age and gets a lot of flack for taking the “woman’s role” with customers. His bitterness is at least partly a reaction to feeling emasculated. [[spoiler: Felix had a similar upbringing, but whereas Paris lashes out in an immature fashion, Felix has matured into a cold and calculating ManipulativeBastard.]]

The Wolf Den Trilogy is a series by Elodie Harper. The first book in the series is ''The Wolf Den'', followed by ''The House with the Golden Door'' (2022) and ''The Temple of Fortuna'' (2023). The series charts the course of Amara, a young woman from Attica, after she is [[MadeASlave enslaved]] and sent to Pompeii to work as a prostitute.

[[caption-width-right:415:some caption text]]