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Background
for the Novel
What romantically
inclined reader isn't intrigued by these lines from the Roman historian
Suetonius?
"Tiberius
married Vipsania Agrippina, the daughter of Marcus Agrippa and the grand-daughter
of Caecilius Atticus, the Roman knight to whom Cicero's letters were
addressed. After Tiberius had acknowledged as his own the son Drusus
that she bore him, although she was a good match for him and was pregnant
once again, he was forced to divorce her without delay and to marry
Julia, the daughter of Augustus. This caused no small anguish in his
heart, both because he was fixed in his devotion to Vipsania and because
he disapproved of Julia's conduct - having perceived along with everyone
else that she was lusting after him when she was still married to her
previous husband. But after the divorce he was grief-stricken over having
parted with Vipsania. On one occasion, he caught sight of her and followed
her with such eager, tear-filled eyes that a watch was set up to ensure
that she would never come into his view again."
(Suetonius, Tiberius
VII, 2-3, translation by James R. Burns)
Vipsania: A Roman
Odyssey assumes that the devotion Tiberius felt for his first wife
never died and weaves a tale based on the following facts:
- Tiberius separated
from Julia shortly after their marriage and he never remarried.
- To the astonishment
of the Roman world, Tiberius resigned his position as second man in
the empire and retired to Rhodes - just off the coast of the Roman
province of Asia - IN THE VERY SAME YEAR (6 BC) that Vipsania's new
husband became governor of that province. (At this time, governor's
wives generally accompanied their husbands to their posts.)
- Vipsania died
just a few days after her son by Tiberius celebrated an ovation in
Rome and only a few months after he became heir to the throne.
- Seven months
after Vipsania's death, Tiberius left Rome and retired to Campania
"to recover his health."
- Vipsania was
posthumously restored to the imperial family and honored in monuments
to it throughout the empire. It is even possible that she was depicted
on coins issued in her son's name (see
my article).
- Unaccountably,
ten years after Vipsania's death, Tiberius imprisoned her second husband
and began the execution of men he had known thirty years before during
his days on Rhodes. These included his host on the island and two
Roman knights who had lived with him there.
Vipsania: A
Roman Odyssey
is a character study of Tiberius and Vipsania - and a vigorous yarn
that just might be true. If so, it would explain much about Tiberius'
character and behavior as emperor. But whether this saga of Tiberius
and Vipsania's enduring love is true or not, the author believes it
makes a lively, entertaining, and thought-provoking read.
Readers'
Comments:
"...This is an intriguing book built around a number of recorded
historical facts."
" ...a very entertaining, highly readable story. I enjoyed
your book so much that I just hated to put it down. I have recommended
it to several people and feel very lucky to have read it... I like the
short chapters, the dialogue, the descriptions and just the general
tone of your work. I enjoyed the 'possible answers to the puzzles of
Tiberius' and do think that they rang true. I also enjoyed the afterward
and was glad that you tied it all together in that way. You are a professional
and my kind of writer. Thanks so much for offering this book... I'm
glad I didn't miss it."
"...I really enjoyed the book alot - nicely done and cleverly
crafted within the historical record... and an easy read, to boot..."
"...you make the characters sound like we know them and their
feelings, yet get across the Roman setting too. For starters, it makes
me want to read more about Rome..."
"...the most important part about a novel to me is, am I interested
in continuing this and do I care what happens? I think you slam-dunked
that part for sure..."
"I just LOVED it! Really! It's a great love story that is very
plausible... in many aspects, your novel is one of the best dramatizations
of historical events related to the Julio-Claudian dynasty I've read
so far... most historical novels tend to present the members of the
Julio-Claudian family as either monsters showing very little emotions
other than cruelty, appetite for power or uncontrolled lust for sex,
or just innocent victims of politics. In your novel, you remind to us
that they were people of real flesh and blood with complicated personalities,
capable to have feelings as anybody else, especially to love and to
be loved, and to be deeply hurt in their soul... It's a very great book!"
"...Roman history is hardly my cup of tea, but with my memories
of 'I Clavdivs' to help me set the stage and envision some of the people,
I kept up with the story and flew through the book once I started reading.
Congrats to you for holding the interest of someone who doesn't much
like to read!..."
"...I have just finished it and really enjoyed it... the three
different narrators all work really well together and keep it alive..."
"…I just finished the book last night. What a great story!
I really enjoyed it… I learned a lot about Roman history that I
didn't know. Thanks for giving me the opportunity to read it..."
"…I could not put it down, which is the highest praise
I think there is for a book… Fantastic job, you really made the
characters come alive…"
"Fascinating book…"
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