The Triumph of Caesar: A Novel of Ancient Rome - Couverture rigide

Saylor, Steven

Couverture rigide

ISBN 10 : 0312359837 ISBN 13 : 9780312359836

Editeur : Minotaur Books, 2008

Synopsis

The Roman civil war has come to its conclusion – Pompey is dead, Egypt is firmly under the control of Cleopatra (with the help of Rome’s legions), and for the first time in many years Julius Caesar has returned to Rome itself. Appointed by the Senate as Dictator, the city abounds with rumors asserting that Caesar wishes to be made King – the first such that Rome has had in centuries. And that not all of his opposition has been crushed.

Gordianus, recently returned from Egypt with his wife Bethesda, is essentially retired from his previous profession of ‘Finder’ but even he cannot refuse the call of Calpurnia, Caesar’s wife. Troubled by dreams foretelling disaster and fearing a conspiracy against the life of Caesar, she had hired someone to investigate the rumors. But that person, a close friend of Gordianus, has just turned up dead – murdered -- on her doorstep. With four successive Triumphs for Caesar’s military victories scheduled for the coming days, and Caesar more exposed to danger than ever before, Calpurnia wants Gordianus to uncover the truth behind the rumored conspiracies -- to protect Caesar’s life, before it is too late. No fan of Caesar’s, Gordianus agrees to help – but only to find the murderer who killed his friend. But once an investigation is begun, there's no controlling what it will turn up, who it will put in danger, and where it will end.

A propos du livre

Revue de presse

Suspecting a plot against Julius Caesar, his wife Calpurnia calls on Gordianus the Finder to head it off.Now that he's resolved his Egyptian problems (The Judgment of Caesar, 2004), the Dictator of Rome has returned for four days of no-holds-barred festivals celebrating respectively his Gallic, Egyptian, Asian and African triumphs. Urged on by dire hints from her Etruscan soothsayer Porsenna and her agent Hieronymus, Calpurnia believes that someone is planning her husband's death. Her suspicions harden into certainty when Hieronymus is slain. Since Gordianus has been so successful for so long at finding the truth, she charges him to identify the ringleader Hieronymus was frightened to name even in his private notes. Mingling among a cast that includes the most illustrious people in the world - Julius Caesar, his grandnephew Octavius, his general Marc Antony, the defeated Gallic chief Vercingetorix, the Egyptian queen Cleopatra and her captive sister Arsinoe - Gordianus swiftly realizes that virtually everyone who's ever dealt with Caesar has sufficient grounds to wish him dead.Gordianus doesn't distinguish himself as a detective, and readers possessed of historical hindsight will easily eliminate most of the high-profile suspects. Still, no contemporary novelist approaches Saylor's continued ability to bring ancient Rome to life. --Kirkus Reviews

Présentation de l'éditeur

The new novel in the "Roma Sub Rosa" series is set against the background of Caesar's stupendous quadruple triumphs in Rome in 46 BC, full of colour and spectacle. Having obliterated the opposition, Caesar is now dictator for life. In the upcoming celebrations, "Vercingetorix the Gaul" is scheduled to be executed, as is Arsinoe, the sister of Cleopatra...and Cleopatra herself is in Rome on a state visit, trying to convince Caesar to acknowledge their son as his heir.Marc Antony and Caesar are at odds; Cicero is making a fool of himself with a new teenage bride; and Caesar's wife Calpurnia, having fallen under the spell of an Etruscan soothsayer, is convinced of a plot on her husband's life. Murder and intrigue again draw Gordianus into the vortex of history. Praise for Stephen Saylor: 'Saylor's gifts include authentic historical and topographical backgrounds and...sombre themes set off the brilliant scenery and clever plotting' - "Times Literary Supplement". 'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched...this is entertainment of the first order' - "Washington Post". 'Saylor has acquired the information of a historian but he enjoys the gifts of a born novelist' - "Boston Globe".

Détails de l'édition

• Éditeur: Minotaur Books
• Date d'édition: 2008
• Langue: anglais
• ISBN 10: 0312359837
• ISBN 13: 9780312359836
• Reliure: Relié
• Nombre de pages: 311
• Coordonnées du fabricant: non disponible
• Personne responsable: non disponible