Defender of Rome - Hardcover

Jackson, Douglas

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 059306514X ISBN 13: 9780593065143

Publisher: Bantam Press, 2011

Synopsis

Gaius Valerius Verrens returns to Rome from the successful campaign against Boudicca in Britain. Now hailed a 'Hero of Rome', Valerius is not the man he once was - scarred both physically and emotionally by the battles he has fought, his sister is mortally ill, his father in self-imposed exile. And neither is Rome the same city as the one he left. The Emperor Nero grows increasingly paranoid. Those who seek power for themselves whisper darkly in the emperor's ears. They speak of a new threat, one found within the walls of Rome itself. A new religious sect, the followers of Christus, deny Nero's divinity and are rumoured to be spreading sedition. Nero calls on his 'Hero of Rome' to become a 'Defender of Rome', to seek out this rebel sect, to capture their leader, a man known as Petrus. Failure would be to forfeit his life, and the lives of twenty thousands Judaeans living in Rome. But as Valerius begins his search, a quest which will take him to the edge of the empire, he will discover that success may cost him nearly as much as failure.

About this title

About the Author

Douglas Jackson is rapidly developing a reputation as one of the best historical novelists writing today. He turned a lifelong fascination for Rome and the Romans into his first two novels, Caligula and Claudius. Defender of Rome is the second title in his series featuring Gaius Valerius Verrens; the first Hero of Rome is available in Bantam Press hardcover (and soon Corgi paperback).

From the Inside Flap

Hailed a 'Hero of Rome', Valerius is not the man he once was - scarred both physically and emotionally by the battles he has fought. His sister is mortally ill. His father is in self-imposed exile. And neither is Rome the same city as the one he left.

The Emperor Nero grows increasingly paranoid. Those who seek power for themselves whisper darkly in the emperor's ears. They speak of a new threat, one found within the walls of Rome itself. A new religious sect, the followers of Christus, denies Nero's divinity and is rumoured to be spreading sedition.

Nero calls on his 'Hero of Rome' to become a 'Defender of Rome', to seek out this rebel sect, to capture its leader, a man known as Petrus. To fail would be to forfeit his life, and the lives of twenty thousand Judaeans living in Rome. But as Valerius begins his search, a quest that will take him to the edge of the Empire, he will discover that success may cost him nearly as much as failure.

Edition details

• Publisher: Bantam Press
• Publication date: 2011
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 059306514X
• ISBN 13: 9780593065143
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 336