Author: Margaret George
Publication Information: Berkley. 2018. 592 pages.
ISBN: 0399584617 / 978-0399584619
Book Source: I received this book through the Penguin First to Read program free of cost in exchange for an honest review.
Opening Sentence: "I awoke in the milky dawn, that opalescent hour outside time."
Favorite Quote: "When the gods grant you an impossible wish you do not question them, and if anything seems amiss you do not question that, either."
"Nero fiddled while Rome burned." This is an expression I have long heard and read. This book is a fictionalized story of when Rome burned, what Nero did, and what came after. The Confessions of Young Nero told the story of the child who was caught up in the machinations of palace intrigue from his very birth. Even knowing the history of Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the story of the child in the first book elicits sympathy.
This book is the story of a young man but, more so, an emperor. The palace intrigues and plotting continue. Now, however, the emperor is at the heart of it all rather than an innocent child caught up in it. The expression "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" is interpreted literally and metaphorically. Nero was a fan of the arts; he did indeed play instruments and act in his compositions. Whether or not he played while watching the fire is unclear historically but likely not true. The broader implication of the phrase is that Nero was an unpopular emperor and deemed an ineffective leader by many.
As with the first book, this book is filled with details of the ancient Roman world. The research that went into rendering that world is clear. However, in this book at almost six hundred pages, the details become too much. This book becomes more about the world it creates than the story it tells. The ancient Roman and, to some extent in this one, the Greek worlds are interesting. However, the extensive descriptions do not move the story forward and make for a very slow-paced book.
The book begins with the great fire of Rome, which occurred in AD 64. Historical accounts say that the fire burned for a week and destroyed entire sections of the city. History is less certain of what caused the fire. Some say it was an accident; some say it was instigated by Nero himself to make way for construction of his palace complex. This story picks up on those theories. Further accusations state that Nero blamed the Christians for the fire and thus began the persecution of all Christians. The political quest for power and money govern the public side of Nero's life. On the personal side, the accusations are also shocking, having to do with his wife and his relationship with a slave.
The book continues the theme from the first of portraying Nero as a sympathetic character. That worked well in the first but is much less successful in this one. An innocent child is much easier to depict as sympathetic versus a grown adult making choices. In this case, the book seems to err too far on the positive side; it renders an image of Nero that does not feel balanced.
In that sense, the book accomplishes part of what I look for in historical fiction. While I do not plan on reading an actual biography of Nero, I do find myself reading shorter articles about how history has portrayed and judged his achievements and his failures.
"Nero fiddled while Rome burned." This is an expression I have long heard and read. This book is a fictionalized story of when Rome burned, what Nero did, and what came after. The Confessions of Young Nero told the story of the child who was caught up in the machinations of palace intrigue from his very birth. Even knowing the history of Emperor Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the story of the child in the first book elicits sympathy.
This book is the story of a young man but, more so, an emperor. The palace intrigues and plotting continue. Now, however, the emperor is at the heart of it all rather than an innocent child caught up in it. The expression "Nero fiddled while Rome burned" is interpreted literally and metaphorically. Nero was a fan of the arts; he did indeed play instruments and act in his compositions. Whether or not he played while watching the fire is unclear historically but likely not true. The broader implication of the phrase is that Nero was an unpopular emperor and deemed an ineffective leader by many.
As with the first book, this book is filled with details of the ancient Roman world. The research that went into rendering that world is clear. However, in this book at almost six hundred pages, the details become too much. This book becomes more about the world it creates than the story it tells. The ancient Roman and, to some extent in this one, the Greek worlds are interesting. However, the extensive descriptions do not move the story forward and make for a very slow-paced book.
The book begins with the great fire of Rome, which occurred in AD 64. Historical accounts say that the fire burned for a week and destroyed entire sections of the city. History is less certain of what caused the fire. Some say it was an accident; some say it was instigated by Nero himself to make way for construction of his palace complex. This story picks up on those theories. Further accusations state that Nero blamed the Christians for the fire and thus began the persecution of all Christians. The political quest for power and money govern the public side of Nero's life. On the personal side, the accusations are also shocking, having to do with his wife and his relationship with a slave.
The book continues the theme from the first of portraying Nero as a sympathetic character. That worked well in the first but is much less successful in this one. An innocent child is much easier to depict as sympathetic versus a grown adult making choices. In this case, the book seems to err too far on the positive side; it renders an image of Nero that does not feel balanced.
In that sense, the book accomplishes part of what I look for in historical fiction. While I do not plan on reading an actual biography of Nero, I do find myself reading shorter articles about how history has portrayed and judged his achievements and his failures.
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