Product Description

313 AD, and tempers are rising in Rome. The Emperor Constantine and his mother Helena are trying to make sense of the new Christian religion which is spreading through the Empire – but the Christians can’t agree among themselves. Scholars are locked in a bitter struggle over whether Christ really was the son of God, and Constantine invites delegates from both sides to debate before him at his villa.

Now strange things start to happen. Envoys from both sides are found murdered in a most macabre way. The villa is secretly attacked, and the Holy Sword is stolen. Helena calls on the help of her secret agent Claudia - that shrewd, unobtrusive detective - to untangle the dangerous web of intrigue. As she sets to work, the spy is also facing a crisis in her own life…

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #212810 in Books
• Published on: 2005-04-04
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 416 pages

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

Thumbs Up! to This One
As the reader can deduce from the title this novel is about Ancient Rome. Is is set at the time of the Emperor Constantine and his manipulative mother Helena, who is the power behind his "reign".

Claudia the leading character is Helena's spy. She is heavily involved with one of the foremost gladiators in the city and he has become the subject of a heavy betting syndicate who are attempting to manipulate his fights in the arena to their advantage.

The book is full of the savagery and violence that is well documented for that period of history. Paul Doherty seems to be able to turn his hand to any period of history, be it Rome, Ancient Egypt or Medieval England. This is as good as any of his recent books.

Thumbs Up
As the reader can deduce from the title this novel is about Ancient Rome. Is is set at the time of the Emperor Constantine and his manipulative mother Helena, who is the power behind his "reign". Claudia the leading character is Helena's spy. She is heavily involved with one of the foremost gladiators in the city and he has become the subject of a heavy betting syndicate who are attempting to manipulate his fights in the arena to their advantage. The book is full of the savagery and violence that is well documented for that period of history. Paul Doherty seems to be able to turn his hand to any period of history, be it Rome, Ancient Egypt or Medieval England. This is as good as any of his recent books.

Only average
What can I say? As interested as I may be in the period this book failed to really capture my attention and keep me turning pages, wondering what was going to happen next (to be frank, in the end I read on feverishly to get it over with).

Set at the time when Constantine has recently acquired power, the protagonist Claudia is supposed to be one of his mother Helena's spies. An unlikely spy if you ask me, most of the time she dozes of under a tree somewhere and is caught off guard by someone else who then volunteers some helpful information. I bet you didn't think spying was that easy, huh?

On top of this Doherty had the luminous idea of providing many of the characters with names like 'Petronius the Pimp', 'Festus the Fornicator' or 'Sallust the Searcher' which makes it all seem like some kind of childrens' book really.

I was disappointed in 'The Cup of Ghosts' by the same author, so I for one will be stearing clear of Doherty's novels for a while.