Jane Alison's novel, The Love Artist, takes a little that is known and a lot that is unknown concerning the writer Ovid and his banishment from ancient Rome and creates a beautifully written tale of love and transformations. The character of Xenia, a woman both from, but not of, the Black Sea area is the personality that the story revolves around. She is like Ovid's writing come to life and she inspires him to greater heights. The author makes this ancient world come alive and is successful in fashioning breathing personalities for both Ovid and Xenia. The story, though, at times feels like a novella and the fascinating character of Julia, the emperor's grand-daughter (who will share a fate with Ovid) sometimes seems lost behind the two major characters when she should have been given a little more space. That aside, this is a pleasant, sweetly-voiced novel about a man who will live forever.