An absorbing portrait of ancient Roman life and history, well written and full of suspense—even for those who know the...
A debut by a British schoolteacher depicts the childhood and early career of Julius Caesar.
In case you’ve forgotten your Suetonius, the later days of the Roman Republic were a rough time for the well connected. The fledging empire had established colonies farther and farther afield, colonies that reaped fortunes but required standing armies. The generals of these armies (who paid for the upkeep of their men out of their own pockets) all became laws unto themselves after a while; the Senate was the ultimate authority, but it was unwieldy, and rife with corruption and factions. When young Gaius, the son of a senator, was growing up, everyone expected that the Senate would soon have to appoint a Dictator—a Caesar—to reestablish order. But who? After his father is killed in a slave uprising, Gaius lives with his uncle, Marius the Consul, one of the leading contenders. Marius has just come back with his Legion from a successful campaign in Africa, but his rival Sulla has balked at allowing Marius and his troops to enter the city, lest the troops establish Marius as the Caesar. Sulla has been making a name for himself as a general and would naturally prefer that the Senate choose him. How does it end? With a civil war, naturally, in which Sulla’s forces drive Marius and his army back to North Africa, then invade Greece to put down a rebellion led by Mithridates. While Sulla is away, however, Marius, having prevailed upon the Senate to declare Sulla a traitor, reenters the city in triumph. Young Gaius—now named “Julius” after his dead father—observes all the maneuverings and learns the most important lesson a Roman statesman can master: Trust no one. It becomes his motto once he is named the Caesar himself, but he makes one exception—for a childhood friend and blood-brother named Marcus Brutus.
An absorbing portrait of ancient Roman life and history, well written and full of suspense—even for those who know the ending.Pub Date: Dec. 31, 2002
ISBN: 0-385-33660-8
Page Count: 368
Publisher: Delacorte
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 15, 2002
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with...
Talk-show queen takes tumble as millions jeer.
Nora Bridges is a wildly popular radio spokesperson for family-first virtues, but her loyal listeners don't know that she walked out on her husband and teenaged daughters years ago and didn't look back. Now that a former lover has sold racy pix of naked Nora and horny himself to a national tabloid, her estranged daughter Ruby, an unsuccessful stand-up comic in Los Angeles, has been approached to pen a tell-all. Greedy for the fat fee she's been promised, Ruby agrees and heads for the San Juan Islands, eager to get reacquainted with the mom she plans to betray. Once in the family homestead, nasty Ruby alternately sulks and glares at her mother, who is temporarily wheelchair-bound as a result of a post-scandal car crash. Uncaring, Ruby begins writing her side of the story when she's not strolling on the beach with former sweetheart Dean Sloan, the son of wealthy socialites who basically ignored him and his gay brother Eric. Eric, now dying of cancer and also in a wheelchair, has returned to the island. This dismal threesome catch up on old times, recalling their childhood idylls on the island. After Ruby's perfect big sister Caroline shows up, there's another round of heartfelt talk. Nora gradually reveals the truth about her unloving husband and her late father's alcoholism, which led her to seek the approval of others at the cost of her own peace of mind. And so on. Ruby is aghast to discover that she doesn't know everything after all, but Dean offers her subdued comfort. Happy endings await almost everyone—except for readers of this nobly preachy snifflefest.
The best-selling author of tearjerkers like Angel Falls (2000) serves up yet another mountain of mush, topped off with syrupy platitudes about life and love.Pub Date: March 1, 2001
ISBN: 0-609-60737-5
Page Count: 336
Publisher: Crown
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Jan. 15, 2001
A first novel, this is also a first person account of Scout's (Jean Louise) recall of the years that led to the ending of a mystery, the breaking of her brother Jem's elbow, the death of her father's enemy — and the close of childhood years. A widower, Atticus raises his children with legal dispassion and paternal intelligence, and is ably abetted by Calpurnia, the colored cook, while the Alabama town of Maycomb, in the 1930's, remains aloof to their divergence from its tribal patterns. Scout and Jem, with their summer-time companion, Dill, find their paths free from interference — but not from dangers; their curiosity about the imprisoned Boo, whose miserable past is incorporated in their play, results in a tentative friendliness; their fears of Atticus' lack of distinction is dissipated when he shoots a mad dog; his defense of a Negro accused of raping a white girl, Mayella Ewell, is followed with avid interest and turns the rabble whites against him. Scout is the means of averting an attack on Atticus but when he loses the case it is Boo who saves Jem and Scout by killing Mayella's father when he attempts to murder them. The shadows of a beginning for black-white understanding, the persistent fight that Scout carries on against school, Jem's emergence into adulthood, Calpurnia's quiet power, and all the incidents touching on the children's "growing outward" have an attractive starchiness that keeps this southern picture pert and provocative. There is much advance interest in this book; it has been selected by the Literary Guild and Reader's Digest; it should win many friends.
Pub Date: July 11, 1960
ISBN: 0060935464
Page Count: 323
Publisher: Lippincott
Review Posted Online: Oct. 7, 2011
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 1960
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SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
SEEN & HEARD
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