Antonia

by Brenda Jagger

Nero had been dead for six months and Rome was a changed city. His butterfly world had vanished before a bookkeeping emperor in his seventies, and Rome would have to wait for Galba's death before the glamorous people could return. In one respect, however, Roman life would never change. An heiress who could combine the noblest breeding with impressive wealth was always an important political pawn and Antonia's ancestry and assets were the most impeccable in Rome. Antonia was twenty and had already been tactically betrothed four times when Piso was presented to her as her future husband. Piso, the returned exile with his way to make, was correct and passionless and perhaps the next emperor. There was also Ortho with his charm and his flair for living and his elegant friends - very much the sort of man girls like Antonia were warned against. While in Germany the legions were restive, and Vespasian waited in Judea, nothing in the political arena had any certainty; while Rome, like a courtesan, bowed to the possessor of the moment.

Genres: Historical Fiction

224 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1978

About the author

Brenda Jagger was born on 1936 in Yorkshire, England, UK, which was the setting for many of her books including her famous ‘Barforth’ family saga. The recurring central themes of her work are marriage, womanhood, class, identity, and money in the Victorian Era. Her work has been praised for its compelling plots and moving storylines as well as its exacting emotional descriptions. Her later novel A Song Twice Over won the Romantic Novel of the Year Award in 1986.

Married, she had three daughters. Worked in Paris and as a probation officer in the north of England. She passed away in 1986.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 3 out of 5]

Love story set against the background of the Year of the Four Emperors. Antonia, daughter of a patrician house, deals with her family and the whole political situation. Her mother holds a secret and later, faced with a similar situation, Antonia, trusting her own decision and not acting as her mother had, reacts completely differently.

From the bland title and ambiguous description, I didn't know what to expect. All I did know, this is a favorite historical period of mine. I did enjoy the novel, although it was too melodramatic in parts. Antonia herself was a strong heroine, who knew her own mind and tried to make her own life, despite familial pressures. A major stereotype of the romance novel appeared--mainly in the form of Antonia's lover, the historical Fabius Valens, a general of Emperor Vitellius, and her feelings about him. I did like the author's writing style and I got a good sense of that tumultuous time in history and how it affected one family.

[Barbara Lennox · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fabulous book, which I reread on a regular basis. It's set in the time of the four emperors, a dramatic period of Roman history, and is written from the point of view of a young aristocratic girl struggling to find her way in a world dominated by powerful men, a world of changing loyalties, treachery, betrayal and vested interests, a world where love and passion are found in unexpected places. The characters are complex, the plot full of twists and turns, and the writing is luscious. I love all of Brenda Jagger's books but since I have a particular interest in Roman history in this period, this is possibly my favourite.

[Paleomichi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Romanzo storico, in cui Antonia, la protagonista, si ritrova a vivere gli sconvolgimenti politici e sociali avvenuti a Roma fra l'impero di Galba e quello di Vespasiano.
Fra assassini politici, colpi di stato e guerre civili Antonia, appartenente ad una delle più importanti famiglie patrizie romane, si ritrova a dover cercare di capire come vuole vivere la propria vita. Interessante, ben scritto, ma a mio parere manca qualcosa.

[Patricia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ace book very good story