Daughters of Rome

This post first published June 15, 2013.

Author: Kate Quinn
First Published: April 2011
Publisher: Berkley
Series: Rome #2
370 pages (paperback)
 
Around two years ago, I took a course on ancient Rome for fun (well, for an elective) and it was one of the most fascinating and well taught courses I ever had during my academic career. Now, I wouldn’t say I have the same interest in ancient Rome as I do in historical Britain, but it does perk my interest when I see a book that takes place during the ancient Roman period. Anyway, I have heard of this series, and heard mostly positive things about it. When I saw this book for sale at my local bookstore, I impulsively decided to but it (which is how all my book purchases come to be, hahaha). I didn’t find out until later that this is considered the second book in a series, but it is the kind of series where you can read them out of order and it doesn’t matter because there are different characters and plots in each book. I certainly had no trouble following the story.
Daughters Of Rome takes place in 69 AD, the famous Year of the Four Emperors. It is the year Emperor Nero dies, and Rome unfortunately becomes embroiled in a succession of battles as the throne is up for grabs and varying factions fight for it. Loyalties are fickle things, and the empire is unstable.

In this book, we are focused on four lovely ladies of the Cornelii family, all of whom are named Cornelia. Don’t worry, they have nicknames though! Cornelia Prima is the only one who keeps her name as Cornelia. She is the ideal Roman wife and the one everyone expects to be Empress one day, because her husband will likely be named the Emperor’s heir. Marcella is Cornelia’s sister, a woman who is more withdrawn, with an absentee husband which suits her just fine. She loves witnessing history and the Year of the Four Emperors is particularly thrilling for her. Lollia is their cousin, a promiscuous young woman who has been married more times than you can count on your hand. Finally, Diana, also a cousin, who is a gifted equestrian and doesn’t care for any of the hundreds of suitors lined up for her hand because all she wants to do is race and care for her horses. These four ladies all have their own roles in the succession of emperors to come. Marcella, in particular, is curious as to how she can manipulate history herself, an action that causes severe consequences for her sister and cousins.

I’m no expert on this time period (I mean, I only took one general course on it), but the environment and setting feels quite authentic. Even the way the typical Roman home is laid out, with a tablinum and everything, was not missed. When I was reading this book, I definitely felt like I was in ancient Rome.

The characters and plot were good but sometimes felt a bit lacking. It was an easy, interesting read and I enjoyed the way the story was unfolding, but I was never shocked or surprised in the story, no strong emotions. Lots of drama going on, but I almost felt like a lot of it was predictable. I know parts of it were definitely going to be predictable: the Year of the Four Emperors kind of gives away what’s going to happen to each emperor. The story was told well and I enjoyed it, but it could have been more.

I felt the same way about the characters. They were all generally enjoyable and memorable. I didn’t have a favourite Cornelii but they were memorable as one unit, heh. I found Marcella’s character kind of bizarre but maybe that’s because I simply cannot understand the mindset she has. She started off pretty “normal”, but as the story went on, she changed into this person who doesn’t care for the well being of her family or her country. She just wants to see how crazy history can become if she meddles with it. And by meddle, I mean she has some connections with powerful people so she would whisper things to them, swaying them to do one thing or another without them knowing they are being swayed, and then Marcella would sit back and see how everything plays out. Even if that means dire consequences for her sister and cousins. It felt like as the story went on, Marcella became more distant from her family in a way that she doesn’t care about them. When confronted about what she has done, Marcella is the one who is irritated that her family cannot appreciate her role in history.

Overall, a good solid book. If you have an interest in ancient Rome, I’d recommend this book for sure, even if you don’t know a thing about that time period. This was definitely an entertaining-drama kind of book so I am sure you will find something to like about it if it perks your interest at all.

My Rating: 3/5