⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 8/10
Antonia Caenis is one of those fascinating mysteries of Roman history. She is mentioned in a couple of later histories as being a freedwoman of Antonia minor and the long term lover of the emperor Vespasian, with whom she lived openly after his wife died ( it was illegal for him – a citizen – to marry a freedwoman). But we know next to nothing about her.
Perhaps more surprisingly, we have limited information about Vespasian as well. Whilst many of his acts in winning the purple are known, as well as much of what he did as emperor, little is known about his earlier life.
Given what we do know, the mere existance of their long term relationship points to an extraordinary story of two strong people, and it is a real shame that we don’t know more about it. However, it does give a novelist almost carte blanche.
Lindsey Davis has taken what basic information we have and woven an immensely enjoyable story around it. Slightly unusual in style – in that at times it reads like a non-fiction work – it is very engaging, and Davis has created two very likeable – and real – characters.
Caenis also features in Robert Fabbri’s ongoing series about the life of Vespasian, and in those works their relationship continues throughout their lives. Here, the author has their relationship end when Vespasian marries, and only resume on the death of his wife nearly twenty years later.
This is a mixed blessing. You lose twenty years of their entwined lives. But it does mean Davis can concentrate on Caenis, allowing her to develop into a substantial, independent woman, and for me it works really well. As a regular reader of fiction set in the Roman world, it is refreshing to have a strong female character.
Ultimately this is a love story, set against a turbulent political background which intrudes more and more on the lives of the main characters. But it remains grounded and real and is a great read, in Davis’s own inimitable style. It is, though, still a shame that we will probably never know the real story.
This is a review of the Arrow Books 1998 Kindle edition.
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