He will be a good emperor. Work diligently. Take a meticulous interest in all aspects of administering the Empire. Honour the gods. Rebuild, replenish coffers, tackle moral degeneration, crush revolt, initiate festivals, encourage artistic and athletic achievement, leave Rome flourishing and ready for a Golden Age. His name will reverberate through history. His fame will be perpetual. Knowing these things is not enough. [p. 79]
Part historical novel, part overview of the Emperor Domitian's reign (81-96 CE). The love story between two complex and credible characters, soldier Gaius Vinius Clodianus and hairdresser Flavia Lucilla, plays out against the backdrop of Domitian's increasing paranoia, and the ways in which it impacted the citizens of Rome. The two protagonists become unlikely friends when Lucilla, aged fifteen, reports a theft to the local vigiles office: the officer on duty is Gaius Vinius Clodianus, a war veteran with disfiguring scars and a strong sense of decency. Master and God follows the two through bad marriages (mostly Gaius', as he has a habit of choosing unsuitable women, or having them chosen for him: Lucilla does marry a man who wears sandals with socks, though), war, family intrigue, increasingly ridiculous hairstyles, hand-crafted toupees for the Emperor, a guard dog named Terror (who answers to 'Baby') and a treasonous conspiracy. The romance is very well done: two world-weary, competent, self-reliant individuals, gradually realising that they are a great match. The interjections of Roman history and social context were occasionally jarring -- Davis puts events in context, but that context can involve events well after the novel's conclusion -- but definitely intriguing. There is also a chapter narrated by a house-fly, in a nod to Domitian's entirely normal and wholesome hobby of stabbing flies with his pen. Not quite as cheerful as the Falco or Flavia Albia novels, but a good read.
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