These two epic novels comprise a multi-generational saga that spans the first 1200 years of the city, from Iron Age trading post to the height of the empire under Hadrian. this is entertainment of the first order.Steven Saylor is the author of EMPIRE: THE NOVEL OF IMPERIAL ROME, a follow-up to the international bestseller ROMA: THE NOVEL OF ANCIENT ROME. 'Readers will find his work wonderfully (and gracefully) researched. 'With the scalpel-like deftness of a Hollywood director, Saylor puts his finger on the very essence of Roman history.' Times Literary Supplement 'Saylor's scholarship is breathtaking and his writing enthrals' Ruth Rendell 'Saylor expertly weaves the true history of Rome with the lives and loves of its fictional citizens.' Daily Express As it passes from generation to generation, the fascinum seems to exercise a power not only over those who wear it, but over the very fate of the empire. However diverse their destinies and desires, all the Pinarii are united by one thing: the mysterious golden talisman called the fascinum handed down from a time before Rome existed. One falls under the charismatic spell of Nero, while another is drawn into the strange new cult of those who deny the gods and call themselves Christians. One enters into a clandestine affair with a Vestal virgin. One unwittingly becomes the sexual plaything of the notorious Messalina.

But at the novel's heart are the wrenching choices and seductive temptations faced by each new generation of the Pinarii. that ravaged the city, Nero's terrifying persecution of the Christians, and the mind-blowing opening games of the Colosseum. The deadly paranoia of Domitian is followed by the Golden Age of Trajan and Hadrian-but even the most enlightened emperors wield the power to inflict death and destruction on a whim.Įmpire is strewn with spectacular scenes, including the Great Fire of 64 A.D. Through the eyes of the Pinarii, we witness the machinations of Tiberius, the madness of Caligula, the cruel escapades of Nero, and the chaos of the Year of Four Emperors in 69 A.D. Now, in Empire, Saylor charts the destinies of five more generations of the Pinarius family, from the reign of the first emperor, Augustus, to the glorious height of Rome's empire under Hadrian. In the international bestseller Roma, Steven Saylor told the story of the first thousand years of Rome by following the descendants of a single bloodline. 'A compelling storyteller, with a striking talent for historical reconstruction' Mary Beard The eagerly awaited sequel to the bestselling Roma - now in paperback.

Empire steven saylor