A Dreadful Destiny (A Libertus Mystery of Roman Britain, 19)
In late 2nd-century Roman Glevum (present day Gloucester), Libertus, duumvir and former slave, is his patron Marcus’s main advisor in how to avoid getting caught up in the political fallout after the uncertainty following the Year of Five Emperors. Aside from that, Libertus’s life is generally pleasant. But Gwellia’s infected foot, a runaway bride, and an overweeningly arrogant, well-connected Senator start a chain of events that blight Libertus.
Rosemary Rowe’s A Dreadful Destiny is a page-turner, written in a clear and fast-paced style. My only quibble is that some of the tragic instances in the story seem oddly partnered with the somewhat sardonic voice of the narrator, which may imply a little lighter fare. There is real tragedy in the book—I gasped aloud a couple of times. My biggest complaint is that it ended before I was ready for it to.
Protagonist Libertus is well drawn, entertaining, likable, and clever. Rowe does a laudable job of making his ownership of slaves feel less reprehensible in context, and it would be difficult to avoid slave ownership by any man of power in Rome. All of the characters, though, are three-dimensional, with the possible exception of the villain Senator Hortius, who is mostly offstage and irredeemably awful.
Rowe uses an interesting technique to give actions historical context: Libertus’s first-person account includes parenthetical asides to explain the usual course of events in Roman culture. This technique works well, as Rowe has already established the mixing of Celtic and Roman cultures, so if Libertus was talking to a contemporary, it wouldn’t be unusual to explain those details.
A Dreadful Destiny is an excellent novel, well researched and well written, and should be high on your reading list.
