Clodia

by Robert DeMaria

To the young Catullus Rome was a golden nightmare. Vast and teeming, viciously corrupt, this center of the crumbling Republic was also the setting for his own self-destroying search for perfection in love. For in Rome reigned Clodia...the Lesbia of his poems -- enigmatic, beautiful, depraved. This is the story of Catullus's metamorphosis from a bright-haired, romantic youth into a man ill and embittered at the age of thirty. It is also the story of the last days of the Republic, and of Cicero's struggle against the brutish Clodius, whose ruffians roamed the streets after dark. His scorn for public opinion, his defilement of the mysteries of the Good Goddess, his relationship with his sister and his naked lust for power exceeded the tolerance even of the world's most sophisticated city. It is the story of Caesar, Pompey and Crassus, and their battle for political domination through terror and subterfuge. But it is most of all the story of an extraordinary woman, one of the great beauties of the age, complex, sinful, brilliant, and of the the meaning to her of "Death's only enemy...our best and only god".

Genres: Historical Fiction

356 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

About the author

Robert DeMaria was a novelist, editor, and educator known for his work in fiction and literary publishing. He taught at the University of Oregon, Hofstra College, and Dowling College, and served as editor for Macmillan and Dean of Faculty at the New School for Social Research. His novels include A Carnival of Angels (1961), Clodia (1965), and Don Juan in Lourdes (1966). In 1964 he relocated to Deia, Mallorca, where he founded the Mediterranean Institute and the Mediterranean Review, fostering connections with prominent writers.

Reviews

[Mark Buckley · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book about a coming of age love story in ancient Rome. There was some beautiful prose and interesting dialog that made the book worthwhile. The politics of Rome and the social society also played a large part in what made this historical novel interesting to me. Generally I learned about historical Rome while reading an excellent story of wanting someone you know is wrong for you.