Legate's Daughter [Hardcover]

Wallace Breem (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 8, 2004

The scene is Rome in the troublesome year 24 B.C. Emperor Augustus is in ill health and the city is seething with intrigue. There is speculation about the succession, uncertainty in the capital and unrest on the frontiers. The question of an heir is acute. Augustus has only one child, a daughter, Julia. She is married to Marcellus, marking the young man with the Emperor's favour, but some disagree with the match. Powerful rivals engineer crisis and conspiracy. These events are seen through the eyes of Curtius Rufus, ex-centurion, gambler, and a man dissatisfied with life. He comes to the attention of Augustus's lieutenant, Marcus Agrippa, who leads Curtius into the puzzling affair of the legate's daughter, kidnapped, it appears, by pirates and held in captivity in the African desert. His expedition is blocked and frustrated at every turn, but Curtius and his comrades press on into the unknown wilderness to negotiate with the girl's captors. The Romans are almost held prisoner in their own camp, but by steady nerves, courage and bluff, Curtius triumphs in his efforts to rescue her, only to return to Rome and a cruelly ironic ending to his risky adventure.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"A vivid, three-dimensional book."--Mary Renault

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

Wallace Breem was born in 1926 and educated at Westminster School. In 1944 he entered the Indian Army Officers Training School and later joined a crack regiment of the North West Frontier Force. After the war he joined the staff of the Honourable Society of the Inner Temple, where he became Chief Librarian and Keeper of Manuscripts. He died in 1990.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 296 pages
• Publisher: Weidenfeld & Nicolson (July 8, 2004)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0297848801
• ISBN-13: 978-0297848806
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 5.9 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,654,347 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent perspective on Imperial Rome, September 22, 2004

By 

A. Professor (Claremont, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Legate's Daughter (Hardcover)

This book does an outstanding job of putting you in the shoes of an interesting main character, who is given a chance to redeem himself by travelling to Africa and rescuing the daughter of a prominent Roman family. The depiction of life in Rome and Africa is interesting and has a very authentic feel. The events and plot are involving too and kept me gripped from start to finish. It's more of a political thriller than a military study, so don't look for the rich battle scenes so prominent in the author's other book "Eagle in the Snow." Both books are outstanding in their own way, however, and the initial "one-star" review seems way off the mark to me.

11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Historical Fiction, August 27, 2004

By 

Neil B. Mattingly "History Lover" (St Louis) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Legate's Daughter (Hardcover)

The above reviewer is insane. This is an excellent book. Maybe not as good as "Eagle in the Snow" but still exceptional. Please disregard that one star review.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Great setting descriptions, but rather opaque characters, August 15, 2007

By 

Sherry Christie (Jonesport, Maine) - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Legate's Daughter (Paperback)

In telling this story of a disgraced ex-centurion's struggle to achieve a diplomatic mission given him by Agrippa, Wallace Breen does a wonderful job of communicating the sights, sounds, and smells of Rome and Mauretania in 24/23 BC. For example, "It was a dry day and the streets were partially filled with strolling couples enjoying the warmth of the late-afternoon sun. The Tiber was crowded with a long line of barges coming up from Ostia to the warehouses below the island; a group of idlers were playing backgammon in the doorway of a closed shop; a cake seller with an empty tray was shuffling home, counting the takings as he did so, while a group of small boys were watching fascinated as a man repaired a roof under the scolding eye of his wife." It's a lot harder, however, to see into the heads of his characters, particularly that of his protagonist, Curtius Rufus. "I do not understand" is a common remark of Rufus's, and one that I often found myself repeating as I tried to figure out what he was thinking and why he was doing what he did. Readers who are more perspicacious than I am (or less in need of cues about a character's thoughts) may wholeheartedly enjoy Breem's tale of Curtius Rufus's attempts to rescue a Senator's daughter kidnapped for unknown reasons.