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Render Unto Caesar A Novel Gillian Bradshaw Books

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Render Unto Caesar A Novel Gillian Bradshaw Books

Before I get to the meat of my review of this enjoyable book, I must complain about the number of typos and wrong words in the Kindle edition -- which went beyond the acceptable. Not the author's fault but very sloppy work by the publisher and editor.

Now to the book itself which I found absorbing. The setting is Rome, the year 16 B.C. Hermogenes, a well-to-do Greek banker from Alexandria, arrives in the city accompanied by a couple of slaves to collect a debt he has inherited from his late uncle. The debtor turns out to be an obnoxious Roman consul, Tarius Rufus who refuses to pay and physically attacks out hero who is rescued by Cantabra, a former female gladiator.

We gradually learn that Hermogenes is an overwhelmingly decent and moral man, concerned about the well being of his slaves and in fact considerate of the feelings of everyone with whom he comes into contact. This sets him apart in the brutal society that is Rome. My one criticism of this book is that Hermogenes seems to have landed in ancient Rome from somewhere in upscale America circa 2008. He is indeed a metro-sexual although a very heterosexual one. His developing love affair with Cantabra takes up the bulk of the latter half of the book.

There's quite a lot of detail about the banking, credit, loans, slavery, sexual mores of the period that keeps this book interesting. The hero is an interesting and sympathetic character. The love affair is sweet. It's a pretty good read.


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Render Unto Caesar A Novel Gillian Bradshaw Books Reviews

I have only just recently bought my . I have read many of Gillian Bradshaw books based upon Rome and the Mediterranean in print, and have very much enjoyed them. I purchased this for my new . It has literally hundreds of typographical errors. Some minor that don't interrupt the flow of the book much once you learn to ignore them and not be frustrated. But there are some that I have to stop and think and figure out what it actually should be so that it makes sense. Very frustrating. I don't find these kinds of errors in print books.
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.
Before I get to the meat of my review of this enjoyable book, I must complain about the number of typos and wrong words in the edition -- which went beyond the acceptable. Not the author's fault but very sloppy work by the publisher and editor.

Now to the book itself which I found absorbing. The setting is Rome, the year 16 B.C. Hermogenes, a well-to-do Greek banker from Alexandria, arrives in the city accompanied by a couple of slaves to collect a debt he has inherited from his late uncle. The debtor turns out to be an obnoxious Roman consul, Tarius Rufus who refuses to pay and physically attacks out hero who is rescued by Cantabra, a former female gladiator.

We gradually learn that Hermogenes is an overwhelmingly decent and moral man, concerned about the well being of his slaves and in fact considerate of the feelings of everyone with whom he comes into contact. This sets him apart in the brutal society that is Rome. My one criticism of this book is that Hermogenes seems to have landed in ancient Rome from somewhere in upscale America circa 2008. He is indeed a metro-sexual although a very heterosexual one. His developing love affair with Cantabra takes up the bulk of the latter half of the book.

There's quite a lot of detail about the banking, credit, loans, slavery, sexual mores of the period that keeps this book interesting. The hero is an interesting and sympathetic character. The love affair is sweet. It's a pretty good read.