The novel offered to the reader by Charles Kingsley describes a real historical event that occurred in Alexandria in 415 AD. e. A maddened crowd of Christian fanatics dragged the beautiful philosopher Hypatia into the church and tore the pagan to pieces with sharp oyster shells. Kingsley's book is not the only, but certainly the most popular work about the tragic fate of Hypatia - an astronomer, mathematician, philosopher, one of the last and most prominent representatives of the Neoplatonic school.

The novel describes the Alexandrian philosophical school, led by Hypatia and her father-scientist Theon is the concentration of late Hellenic culture, such significant figures as the head of Alexandrian Christianity Cyril, the Ptolemaic bishop Synesius, the former mentor of the emperor, the monk Arsenius and others are represented.

In the assessment of historical events and persons it was reflected, of course, the personality of the author - an Anglican bishop, confessor to Queen Victoria, and the time of creation of the novel - the middle of the last century.

However, we hope that the exciting plot, the severity and drama of the struggle between the world-conquering Christianity and the passing paganism, is masterful a modern translation will make the novel interesting for today's reader.