Pillars of Rome
With barbarians at the gate and enemies within, two men must fight for the soul of the Republic and the greatest empire in the world.
Inside a cave hacked out of the rock, lit by flickering torches, two young boys appeal to the famed Roman oracle for a glimpse into their future. The Sybil draws a blood-red shape of an eagle with wings outstretched: an omen of death. As the boys flee from the cave in fear, Aulus and Lucius make an oath of loyalty until death—an oath that will be tested in the years to come.
Thirty years on, Aulus is Rome’s most successful general and faces his toughest battle. Barbarian rebels have captured his wife and are demanding the withdrawal of Roman legions from their land in return for her life. It is unthinkable for Aulus to agree, and he fears his beloved must be forfeit to Rome. Meanwhile, Lucius has risen to high rank in the Senate, a position he uses and abuses. But when Lucius is suspected of arranging a murder, the very foundations of the Republic are threatened. Lucius and Aulus soon find themselves on very different sides of the conflict—perhaps the prophecy of the eagle will come true after all.
History and adventure, brutality and courage combine to powerful effect, making The Pillars of Rome an outstanding opening to the Republic series.
David Donachie was born in Edinburgh in 1944. He has always had an abiding interest in British naval history of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, as well as the clandestine services during the Second World War. He has 51 published novels to his credit. David lives in Deal, the historic English seaport on the border of the English Channel and the North Sea.