The Confessions of Young Nero by Margaret George
Synopsis:
Built on the backs of those who fell before it, Julius Caesar's imperial dynasty is only as strong as the next person who seeks to control it. In the Roman Empire no one is safe from the sting of betrayal: man, woman or child.
As a boy, Nero's royal heritage becomes a threat to his very life, first when the mad emperor Caligula tries to drown him, then when his great aunt attempts to secure her own son's inheritance. Faced with shocking acts of treachery, young Nero is dealt a harsh lesson: it is better to be cruel than dead.
While Nero idealizes the artistic and athletic principles of Greece, his very survival rests on his ability to navigate the sea of vipers that is Rome. The most lethal of all is his own mother, a cold-blooded woman whose singular goal is to control the empire. With cunning and poison, the obstacles fall one by one. But as Agrippina's machinations earn her son a title he is both tempted and terrified to assume, Nero's determination to escape her thrall will shape him into the man he was fated to become, an Emperor who became legendary.
With impeccable research and captivating prose, The Confessions of Young Nero is the story of a boy's ruthless ascension to the throne. Detailing his journey from innocent youth to infamous ruler, it is an epic tale of the lengths to which man will go in the ultimate quest for power and survival.
My Review:
“Ah, but who will bell the cat?” “I am not sure what you mean.” “It is a country saying. A council of mice met to decide what to do about the tomcat who was on the loose. They agreed the best plan was to attach a bell to his neck so they could hear him coming and hide. It was a fine plan—but it needed a mouse brave enough to risk his life jumping on the cat.”
The book starts out with Nero at three years old, when his crazy uncle Caligula tries to drown him. It progresses through the first few years of his reign. There will be at least one more book to continue his story. In this one, his mother, Agrippina, has been banished, and he lives with his aunt and uncle. His life there is relatively safe, but then his mother returns with the assumption of the throne by Claudius, and Nero finds himself, against his will, drawn into the intrigues of the royal court.
Nero is an interesting figure which is one of the many reasons his story is so fascinating. While he is often depicted as a disturbed individual, he was devoted to the arts and sponsored musicians and painters during his reign. It is impossible to know what Nero was like based on the few texts of his life and legacy. Perhaps he was as horrible as history paints him to be. But what if he wasn’t? George walks a fine line between those two possibilities, giving us readers a fresh look at Nero, a more sympathetic view even, and for the first time the reader looks at Nero as a person - a person who suffered many traumas as a child and was used for years as a pawn of other people who wanted power. She gave this formidable man a back-story filled with all the reasons why he became who he did.
Margaret George is a wonderful, extremely talented writer. When you read her books she takes you on a fantastic journey. Her fluid writing style and her vivid character development make for an excellent read. From the beginning of the book, you can tell that the author has done her research, and done it with very thorough detail. She has taken a historical figure and brought him to life through her free-flowing prose and draws you in with her attention to every detail.
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