Customer Reviews

Tiberius , Reluctant Caesar

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I was introduced to Tiberius via Robert Graves' "I, Claudius" where Graves depicts Tiberius as one of the "bad Claudians." Vass takes the same source material (Suetonius, Tacitus) and weaves a believeable, sympathetic portrait of Rome's second Emperor. He also takes a different tack than Graves on Tiberius' mother Livia, here portrayed as a loving mother and wife. Even Caligula receives a more favorable treatment. I found this book to be a excellent reconstruction of first century Rome and would highly recommend it.

The product description fails to mention that this is a novelized version of the life of Tiberius. I'm not a scholar of ancient Roman history so I can't contest any specific facts--which as far as I can tell are generally accurate. However, there are clearly many portions of the book that describe characters' thoughts, feelings, and verbalizations which seem to have no basis in fact. They are the author's conjecture. The author offers no preface, introduction, or any statement that clarifies the nature of the book. There are no notes or bibliographic references to assist readers in differentiating information in the book that is derived from historical sources and information that is the merely the authors' speculation. I have no objection to the novel--but let's call it one--preferably on the cover. I enjoyed the novel, but I'm not sure I would have purchased it if I had known what it was. After finishing the book I don't know what was fact and what was fiction.