Customer Reviews

Render Unto Caesar

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4 star:		(1)
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1 star:		(1)

 

 

The reader from Sandy, UT, is entitled to dislike this book, and as the author, I am not entitled to say anything except 'I'm sorry you didn't enjoy it.' However, I feel that I am entitled to respond to the accusation of anachronism and ignorance of ancient Rome.

Look, I have two good university degrees in Classical Greek and Latin and 25+ years of studying classical antiquity, and it really, really annoys me when I get accused of anachronism on the basis of what some twerp said in Classical Civilisation 101. If you have some evidence that what I've said is wrong, I'd like to hear it, but I very much doubt you do. For example, I could cite you primary sources from Plato to St. Paul, and secondary sources from Carcopino to Crook, to argue that Hermogenes' attitude towards his slaves, far from being anachronistic, is in fact the benevolent paternalism that was the Graeco-Roman ideal for a paterfamilias. (Sure, they didn't live up to their ideals--that makes them human, but does not constitute anachronism.) As for the question of female gladiators--I dealt with that in the afterword. That particular detail is in even the popular history books on gladiators, and if Sandy UT hasn't bothered to read any of them, he or she really shouldn't be sounding off in public about my ignorance.

In case my others readers think my standards of research are slipping--no, they're not: this book was as accurate I could make it.

This was a very good book for historical fiction fans.

Hermogenes, a Romanized Greek banker from Alexandria, travels to Rome to collect a debt that he inherited from a relative. He has no reason to believe that everything won't go according to law. After all, the man who owes him is very wealthy. Why would he miss such a paltry sum? Unfortunately, the debtor, now a powerful consul, sees no reason that a "true" Roman should pay the likes of a Greek. This sets off a wild ride for Hermogenes as he runs a round Rome just a step ahead of his enemies trying to collect his money and go hom in one piece.

The best part of the book is the setting. Like many ancient history fiction books, the plot need not as important as the scenery. There is plenty of historical "eye candy." Ancient Rome really comes alive -- the government buildings, prisons, centurions, city walls and gates, and even the different types of housing, both tenements and high-class villas.

This isn't to say that the plot suffers -- it is very good, too. All the characters play their parts well -- the golden=hearted Hermogenes, the loyal Maerica, the merchant Crispus, the fair but tough Taurus, and the properly rotten Pollio and Rufus.

With both the Emperor and his right-hand man, Agrippa, absent from Rome, we get to see the rest of Rome -- its consuls, prefects, and businessmen. The plot begins quite simply, but even when events go crazy, I still understood them. There are not too many characters, and they are well-developed. I especially liked the scenes in Crispus' house, describing the people who work there.

I admit that the story is very pat with a "happily ever after" ending. Also, Hermogenes is often too good to be true. Then again, everyone keeps calling him a "strange man."

All in all, this is a very good book -- a good view of the ancient world and a good story.

As a huge fan of any good book about Romans (especially Colleen McCullough's series) I eagerly snatched this one up and I wasn't disappointed. Although not grand in scale like many works set in Rome at its heyday, it is exceptionally faithful to the historical accuracy of the time (16 bc) and to the leading figures who interact with the main character, a fictional Alexandrian businessman from Egypt. The author is a gifted storyteller who immediately immerses you into Rome and the plight of this proud and honest "Greekling" who gets himself caught up in high-power Roman consular plots and intrigue. The author also does an excellent job of peering into the hearts of her characters, and deftly weaves the appropriate amount of loves lost and found into the plot, not to mention the ubiquitous greed and pride that goes with any Roman story. Believable and interesting from start to finish, it is very well written.

And my measure of a books success - I had great difficulty putting it down until I was done! Highly recommended for fans of the Roman era and lovers of a well-told story.

Gillian Bradshaw's newest, "Render unto Caesar," came yesterday and I just finished it - it's that good. I'm a fan of all of her books and admire her ability to create three-dimensional characters set in ancient Rome, Athens, Alexandria, or Britannia, but I think this book is at the very top of her form.

Set in the mid-period of Augustus' reign, Hermogenes, a young Greek merchant from Alexandria who has "purchased" and very proud of his new Roman citizenship, comes to Rome to settle the problem of a debt, inherited from his uncle, from a wealthy Roman who, it turns out, is now Consul of Rome Hermogenes thinks, as a respectable Roman citizen, he can politely demand payment under Roman law and all will be well. What happens, however, when he asks the powerful Lucius Tarius Rufus for his 450,000 sesterci debt, sets a plot in motion that is as enticing as any thriller while full thought-provoking historical questions that will intrigue and puzzle. Bradshaw's book is centered in a very real sense of just what real life might have felt like in ancient Rome, from what a wealthy man ate at a dinner party to the refuse and fleas of a fourth-rate insula room for rent. Hermogenes is a fascinating and ultimately admirable character, deeply committed to the idea of Roman justice, proud of his citizenship - yet a Greek from Alexandria in the generation just after Actium and Cleopatra when Greeks were despised as effete and Egyptians as subhuman. His adventures and dangers in Rome feel satisfyingly three-dimensional, without any of that unfortunate trend towards setting a "2003 plot in a toga" that mar some Roman efforts. Bradshaw's scholarship is impressive, and invisible. From the smells and sounds of the early-morning Roman market to what multi-millionaires do to recalcitrant slaves (feed them to the lampreys, which is historically accurate!), Hermogenes dwells in a concrete time, space, and growing danger. And throughout, the question resonates - what does it mean to be a Roman citizen? And is it more, or less, than being a free man in a free country?

The plot twists and turns with no simple answers but driven by the pacing of the characters themselves. If you only read one book about ancient Rome this year, make it "Render Unto Caesar." You'll never feel quite the same way again about the Rome of Augustus and the "Pax Romana."

I used to only like a story (movie or book) of ancient Rome if it had lots of military campaigns and gladiatorial gore in them. Then like most teenagers I grew up and discovered novels like those written by Gillian Bradshaw could offer something without all that.

This tale of a Greek moneylender (Hermogenes) who travels from Alexandria to Rome to collect an inherited debt owed to his deceased father shows its writers undoubted knowledge of her subject matter. You can find as much fascination with the descriptions of Rome circa 16BC and the life of its populace as you can wishing its principle character success in his mission to recover what is rightfully owed to him.

Hermogenes task is made all the more problematic by the fact that the man his father once did business with is now one of the Consuls of Rome. Only outranked by Emperor Augustus. The advantages of power, the need to find people you can trust to help and the subtle art of survival when you are a small fish in a big pond all result in plots developing within plots - which helps the story stay fresh and interesting.

Of particular interest was the characters who come into Hermogenes struggle. The most fascinating for me was Cantabra the Hispanic Celt and former gladiatrix. Attractive but hardly feminine her relationship with Hermogenes is a fascinating weaves of contrasting characters. The kindly and trusting Greek with educated and polite tongue vs the street wise and straight talking Celt provide many fine moments in this book.

Another highlight of all Gillians books are the "authors notes" at the end. In these notes she provides answers to questions one might raise about the events within her story. Fact and fiction it may be but her notes support the fact she writes an accurate account of the times - no research short cuts for this classically educated authoress.

An excellent and enjoyable read and as a bonus you learn something about the place and its people.

Hooray, another Bradshaw historical! Gillian Bradshaw has a special gift for characterization that makes all her work a treat to read, but her historicals surpass the rest. As histories they make the ancient past not just vivid, but also human and comprehensible. Her readers become privy to mindsets vastly different from their own.

Bradshaw's novels also do what good fiction must do--grip the reader and never let go. Even better, her books bear re-reading, again and again. My absolute favorite continues to be _Island of Ghosts_, but this latest outing is another fine addition to the bookshelf.

I'm distinctly non-female and a committed non-reader of romances. That being said "Render unto Caesar" is really at heart a love story. It is just so well written with such engaging characters that even I enjoyed it.

It centers on a Greek/Hellenistic moneylender from Alexandria in Rome in the mid-augustan period. There are actually a couple of very touching love stories interweaving in the main narrative. In a sense the whole novel is really about love: A mans love for his daughter, a boy's love for his mother, a patricians love for Rome, a Greek's love for Alexandria, a man unrequited love for his slave and a slaves unrequited love for his master and, obviously, a very touching romantic man-women love story.

Gillian Bradshaw makes the characters and setting come to live with lots of touching details and everyday stories. For instance when the main characters, the Greek banker, Hermogenes, has borrowed a slave boy from his Roman host to have him shown around the city. The boy is being showered with gifts from his master who is in love with him, unfortunately he doesn't really like bedding men and he feels guilty over the fact that he doesn't appreciate his master's kindness. Obviously his parents and siblings wants him to rejoice over his good fortune since the fact that his owner has taken a shine to him is good news for everybody concerned - the owner being a kindhearted man who treats his household slaves kindly. A wonderful way of bringing across the alien viewpoint - A slave feeling guilty about not appreciating being taken to his masters bed. Anyway, as Hermogenes is showed around the city by his guide he buys honey cakes not just for the boy bit also for a little girl called Erotion, and her mother Tertia - the slave women taking care of his rooms. The boy instantly gets worried that he intends to bed her and Hermogenes has to assure him it's just that she is kind, attentive and doing a good job:

The boy went deep red and bit his lib. "I'm sorry, sir," he mumbled staring at the road. "I didn't ...I know it's not....I mean, if you did, you wouldn't even have to give her cakes.... it's just that she is my mother"

I found the whole situation really touching. Lots of little touches like that capturing the different way people think about things and mixing the casual cruelty of their society with the gentleness of individuals.

If you don't like Gillian Bradshaw's writing and plotting, there's something wrong with you. It's that simple.
"Render Unto Caesar" is just the latest in a stunning parade of historical novels by this classical scholar.
It simply doeasn't get any better than Bradshaw.

What a great book! I've read a few of Gillian Bradshaw's novels now and I have enjoyed every one. They are written in a light style and the plot moves along quickly, taking you with it. This was no exception.

Hermogenes is an Alexandrian trader who travels to Rome to try to reclaim a debt from an important Roman civic person. We read lots of really interesting vignettes about how the Romans saw other nations - Barbarians - and how their notion of honour appeared to be generally only honour to other Romans. Hermogenes is accompanied by two slaves from Alexandria and before long the two slaves are having to act as bodyguards to him. It appears that he has poked a rather nasty wasps nest in trying to reclaim his debt. One of his slaves is killed in a fight with some of Hermogenes' new enemies and his life is saved by Cantabra, the female gladiator of a barbarian (celtic) tribe. She becomes his new bodyguard and the tender and rather surprising love story between them is wonderfully written. Hermogenes gets deeper and deeper into Roman politics and Roman money until eventually he wins back his debt, at the cost of many beatings and much trouble.

What I liked about this story was that there was a sub-theme about the position of gay men and boys in Roman society, as well as Greek. Some of the issues were explored - that of slaves not having the option of saying `no' to their masters (although Cantabra actually does this) and the way in which gay people were seen in Greek and Roman society. This is all done in a way that doesn't feel like you're being preached to or lectured at. No mean feat!

This is a good yarn set in any era but the Roman details just add to the enjoyment. I recommend this book wholeheartedly.

This was the most enjoyable work of fiction I have read in some time. I found the characters engaging, the plot interesting, and the little details concerning everyday life fascinating. Well researched! I especially appreciated the notes in the afterword. Thanks to Ms. Bradshaw's recommendation, I am now enjoying Mr. Carcopino's work.