The Dovekeepers by Alice Hoffman

According to Jewish records, sometime in the first century CE the ancient city of Masada was laid siege by the Romans.  Rather then be captured, the population of about 900 Jewish rebels died in a mass suicide.  Tradition teaches that there were two women and five children who survived.  The time and the events leading up to this tragedy are told through the stories of four very different, fiercely independent women - some survivors - some not.  Although the novel has a strong female orientation, there is no way that this can be called "chick lit".  The history is fascinating, the sense of place almost disorienting, and the touch of typical Hoffman mysticism fits in perfectly with the culture of the time.