Mark Antony, famous warrior and legendary lover, expects that he will be Julius Caesar's successor. But when Caesar is murdered, his eighteen-year-old nephew, Octavian, is named as his heir. No one, least of all Antony, expects Octavian to last; but his youth and slight frame conceal a remarkable determination and a sharp strategic mind. Under Octavian's rule, the empire is divided, with Antony responsible for the fabulously rich East. There he meets Cleopatra, who is still mourning Caesar, her lover and the father of her only son. Despite his marriage to Octavian's sister, Antony is fascinated by the Egyptian queen. Drawn together by grief, ambition, passion and politics, they begin a very public love affair, and the tension between Antony and Octavian, already simmering, soon threatens to erupt into war...
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Creators
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Publisher
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Awards
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Release date
December 4, 2007 -
Formats
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OverDrive Listen audiobook
- ISBN: 9780792753513
- File size: 777016 KB
- Duration: 26:58:46
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Languages
- English
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Levels
- Text Difficulty: 9-12
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Reviews
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September 17, 2007
McCullough (The Thorn Birds
; The October Horse
) continues her Masters of Rome series with a chronicle of one of history's most infamous love affairs. After the death of Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Caesar's ambitious and brash cousin, and Octavian, Caesar's adopted son and designated heir, agree to jointly administer the far-flung empire: Antony in the East and Octavian in the West. It's not a happy arrangement, though, and their rivalry to rule Rome is the overarching theme of this sprawling, captivating saga. After a disastrous campaign to subdue the Parthians, Antony turns to Cleopatra, the enigmatic and fabulously wealthy queen of Egypt, to replenish his war chest. Determined to make Caesarion, her son by Julius Caesar, ruler of Rome, Cleopatra seduces Antony and soon has him “as soft as a mushy pudding.” Meanwhile, with the aid of his wife and Marcus Agrippa, Octavian secures his position in Rome and Italia. Prodded by Cleopatra, Antony gathers his forces in Greece for an invasion of Italia. The tragic denouement is, in McCullough's capable hands, no less compelling for being so well known. As with the previous volumes in this series, the author's scholarship and larger-than-life characters bring a tempestuous Rome to life.
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