The Roman Conspiracy

by Jack Mitchell

Young Aulus Spurinna’s homeland, Etruria, has fallen prey to a rebel league of soldiers lead by Manlius, an experienced and dangerous Roman warrior. When his uncle dies under a cloud of mystery, Spurinna must take his uncle’s place as the landowner of all Etruria. In order to save his homeland from Manlius, Spurinna travels to Rome to seek help from a Consul, Cicero. On his journey, Spurinna teams up with Cicero’s daughter, Tullia, and together they unravel a conspiracy that could overthrow the Roman Empire. Spurinna soon finds himself thrust into the midst of a deadly battle – and a fight to save his life, his home, and Rome.

This first novel by classical scholar Jack Mitchell is a gripping tale that vaults over the centuries to bring ancient Rome to thrilling life.

Genres: Historical Fiction, Mystery, Childrens

164 pages, Paperback

First published October 11, 2005

About the author

Jack Mitchell is a poet, scholar, and novelist. He is the author of The Odyssey of Star Wars, a retelling of the Star Wars trilogy as an epic poem, from Abrams Books, and The Poetical Hub, a collection of 376 epigrams and lyric poems published in The Hub magazine. He has also produced a book of aphorisms ("D"), a translation of La Rochefoucauld, and a series of YA historical novels set in ancient Rome (The Roman Conspiracy, The Ancient Ocean Blues, and Chariots of Gaul.) He has taught at the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts and is currently associate professor of Classics at Dalhousie University in Halifax, where he lives with his wife and two children.

Reviews

[Christine · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to love this but it was too dry. I could only recommend it to someone who is interested in a more academic experience.

[Rednaxela · Rating 4 out of 5]

In “The Roman Conspiracy”, the protagonist Aulus goes to Rome in search of consul Cicero, because a retired soldier called Manlius is trying to take his land in Etruria. After some time, Aulus arrives in Rome and makes his way to Cicero’s house. Cicero is Aulus’ protector, and is obliged to help him. When Aulus arrives at Cicero’s house, he meets Tullia, Cicero’s daughter. Together with Tullia, Aulus finds out that a man named Cataline is planning a conspiracy to take over Rome. Cicero gives a speech to the people about Cataline’s evil plans. Aulus and Tullia go to Volturcius’ house looking for proof to back up the plot. Volturcius is a roman knight who works for Cataline, as Manlius. They find proof that Cataline is trying to raise an army of 10,000 Celtic soldiers to overthrow Rome. Eventually there is a battle between Rome and Cataline’s army.

I liked the theme of this book as well as the time it took place in. I am interested in the Roman Empire and how they got so big and powerful. Although this book does not really talk about the history of the Roman Empire, it was still realistic as there were many things that we don’t have anymore, like owning other people or wars that are fought with spears and swords. I think the writing style was directed to a younger age and I didn’t like it as much as some other books I have read. The plot was predictable and some of the mysteries in the book are obvious.

The book is historically accurate in some ways but not in others. Some of the characters in the story did exist, like Cataline and Cicero. But the main character Aulus is a fictional character. I think Jack Mitchel made the main character fictional, so he did not have to follow history exactly to make the book more interesting. The plot was realistic because even though the protagonist was fake, history is still represented accurately in the sense that what happened in the book happened in real life. Cataline did try to take over Rome like it says in the book.

[Anna Mussmann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love two things about this YA novel set in Ancient Rome:

1. The author’s bio says he first studied Latin because of his admiration for J. R. R. Tolkien.

2. The set-up of the story provides readers with a look at the client/patron system in Ancient Rome. It also introduces Cicero and several of his contemporaries.

-The part I did not love:

1. The majority of the story did not fulfill the expectations created by the first two chapters. I thought this was going to be a realistic piece of historical fiction illustrating life in Ancient Rome. Instead, it turned out to be the kind of story in which (a) the teenage boy takes down thugs by kicking their feet out from under them and (b) the teenage girl, despite being a member of the patrician class, charges about being “spunky*--” at one point, she masquerades as a slave, and at another her father lets her ride along with the cavalry to see the fun.

Conclusion: I’m sure this story would be just the ticket for some young readers, but for me it would have worked better if it had not felt like such a mismatch with the setting-specific, realistic-feeling opening. I ended up being disappointed and rolling my eyes a lot.

3.5 stars.

*Obviously being spunky is a good trait, but spunky is different from "spunky."

[Olin Juneau · Rating 5 out of 5]

The book "The Roman Conspiracy" by Jack Mitchell is about a young energetic man that travels to Rome to find his fathers killer... I think this book was great and it really made me want to find out what was going to happen next.

[IlliterateZombiePhilistine · Rating 5 out of 5]

I am biased. One of my favourite ancient language profs at Dal classics wrote it. But nonethless I think that the roman conspiracy is very good. It's funny, entertaining, easy to read, (being of the YA historical fiction genre). But it's just as intellectually stimulating and informative. It is without doubt very well researched and fun.

[Anonymous · Rating 2 out of 5]

Personally, I think that this novel is boring.