Product Description

Agrippina, wife of Claudius, mother of Nero, was a beautiful and talented woman who saw her father murdered, was banished by her brother, and was killed on the orders of her son. Her freed man, a one-eyed former gladiator named Parmenon, tells of Agrippina's battle to survive in and control the depraved and violent Imperial Roman court, and the crumbling relationship between mother and son.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #285705 in Books
• Published on: 2002-12-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 322 pages

Review
Parmenon, a one-eyed former gladiator, tells the story of the beautiful Agrippina, the wife of Claudius and mother of Nero, and of her battle to survive in and control the depraved and violent imperial Roman court.

About the Author
Paul Doherty was born in Middlesbrough. He studied History at Liverpool and Oxford Universities and obtained a doctorate for his thesis on Edward II and Queen Isabella. He is now headmaster of a school in north-east London and lives with his family in Essex.

Customer Reviews

Badly researched mystery set in ancient Rome
For a devoted fan of Paul Doherty his latest book Domina was a terrible disappointment. Research appears to have been limited to the gossip of Suetonius' "Life of the Caesars". A propaganda pamphlet commissioned by the Flavians to make them look good when compared to their predecessors. All the mostly untrue stories are here. Tiberius the ghastly recluse in Capri, Claudius the cretin and of course Nero the monster. No Roman emperor would ever say "I am the Emperor of Rome". Their title since Augustus was Princeps. The military title imperator was assumed to indicate command of the army. No wife of any emperor would ever call herself empress, the feminine form of Caesar/Augustus/Imperator did not exist. The meeting room of the Senate was not an amphitheater, it looked remarkably like the present House of Commons with the presiding consuls on a dais just like the present day Speaker. Just go and look at the Comitium in the Roman Forum, it still stands there. The senators wore a white toga with broad red stripes. Any Roman citizen was entitled to wear a white toga. One of Nero's cronies wears a purple, gold edged toga in the book. Now really !
Paul Doherty would have greatly benefited from reading Allan Massie's "Tiberius" or the classic
"I Claudius" and "Claudius the God". Stephen Saylor and Lindsay Davis manage a far better picture of ancient Rome.

A Terrific Read

Paul Doherty is the consummate professional when it comes to writing historical novels. I for one do not know how he can be so prolific with his offering of books and yet make sure that each of them is well researched. Whether they be 13th, 14th, or fifteenth century they are always true to the period. He also writes about Ancient Egypt and Alexander the Great. Paul Doherty has the rare talent of making you feel as though you are there, be it medieval England, or battling with Alexander. The sounds and smells of the period seem to waft from the pages of his books. He has now turned his attention to Ancient Rome and this is the first book in the series.

Agrippina was the wife of Claudius and the mother of perhaps the most hated Emperor Rome had ever had (or so the history books would have us believe). She was a stunningly beautiful woman, but talented too. She led a privileged but traumatic life. She saw her own father murdered. She was then banished by her brother and was killed on the orders of a son, when the balance of his mind was undoubtedly in question.

This is her story, told by her freed man, Parmenon, a one-eyed former gladiator. He tells of Agrippina's constant battle to survive in the depraved and violent Imperial Roman court and also her attempts to stem the crumbling relationship between herself and her son.