AUGUSTUS

by John Williams ‧ RELEASE DATE: Oct. 31, 1972

A subtly blended portrait of Gaius Octavius Caesar (63 B.C. -- 14 A.D.) who became in his 36th year the Emperor Augustus. The author has created a sheaf of letters from contemporaries, the Emperor and his daughter Julia with such scrupulous respect for the flavor of handsomely symmetrical Latin prose that the times and people are overheard through the dry rustle of scholarship. Book I follows Octavius' stealthy, singleminded intention ""to change the world."" As he skillfully feints and thrusts, Octavius deals with contending political factions and leaders, among them Antonius (""How do you oppose a foe who is wholly irrational and unpredictable -- and still has attained a most frightening power?""). Yet Antonius, lured by the wily diplomacy of the Egyptian Queen, runs himself to the ground. Book II leaves the seas and fields of battle, wrangling and summitry of the mighty, and nervously acerbic commentary of doomed men like Cicero, to focus on Octavius' ""other"" daughter, Julia. As the Emperor's daughter she probes for power, is finally conquered by her own excess, and banished by her father. At the close Octavius himself speaks of love -- his love for Julia and for Rome. And Rome is not eternal, but there was a moment (the moment of Augustus) ""which will not wholly die."" Through the letters which narrate, expostulate and provide a rush of gossip, the author has created both an alien and curiously familiar climate which could have indeed produced such an Augustus. For a special audience, a responsible and intricate work.

Pub Date: Oct. 31, 1972

ISBN: 1400076730

Page Count: -

Publisher: Viking

Review Posted Online: N/A

Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 1972

Categories: FICTION