Romanitas (novel)
| Industry | Publishing |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | United Kingdom |
| Products | Books |
Romanitas is a novel of alternate history authored by Sophia McDougall and released through Orion Books. It inaugurates a trilogy situated in an alternate reality where the Roman Empire endures into the present day, exerting control over large portions of the world. The point of divergence occurs when Emperor Pertinax's assassination in 193 AD is prevented, enabling him to carry out reforms that preserve the empire.[1]
In 2005, Romanitas received a nomination for the Sidewise Award for Alternate History.[2]
Plot summary
Following the funeral of his parents, Marcus Novius Faustus Leo, the teenage heir and nephew to the emperor, is informed by his father's secretary Varius that his parents were killed because of Leo’s intentions to eliminate slavery. Meanwhile, Varius’s wife succumbs to death after consuming poisoned confections provided by Marcus’s cousin Makaria. Varius orchestrates Marcus’s escape to a hidden sanctuary in Hispania, overseen by Delir, an anti-slavery campaigner allied with Leo. At the same time, Una, a British slave endowed with telepathic powers, frees her brother Sulien, who has been unjustly sentenced to crucifixion.
The three converge in Gaul and decide to journey together toward the sanctuary. However, Varius is apprehended and forced under duress to disclose the refuge’s whereabouts and admit to orchestrating the murders of Marcus and his parents.
Upon discovering Varius’s coerced confession is false, Marcus opts to reveal his survival by returning to Rome with the intent to publicly unmask the conspiracy. Although he initially avoids capture, Marcus is ultimately detained after revealing himself and confined in a medical facility where conspirators administer hallucinogens to feign insanity. Given a hereditary history of mental illness within the imperial lineage, Emperor Faustus consents to keep Marcus isolated.
Una and Sulien arrive in Rome and successfully extract Marcus from the asylum. Subsequently, Marcus clears Varius’s name and exposes the assassination scheme. Makaria shifts blame away from herself onto the emperor’s wife, Tulliola.
See also
- Agent of Byzantium
- Germanicus trilogy
- Gunpowder Empire
- Lest Darkness Fall
- Roma Eterna
- Rome Burning
- Warlords of Utopia
External links
- Official website
- Review of Romanitas by The International Writers Magazine