Nero

Petronius, Nero's "Arbiter of Taste" has been condemned to death for treason. He has opened his veins, and while having them bound up temporarily, then opened, then closed, tells his friends his contact with Nero [called herein Lucius, his birth name] through the years. Wishart gives us a more sympathetic view of the mad emperor than we usually get. Petronius doesn't gloss over his cruelty, but admits there is some good in there deep down. The bad is egged on by such folks as Tigellinus, er, "Tiggy".

I loved the sardonic, dry, sometimes humorous tone put into Petronius's mouth. Recommended.

A wonderful fictional account of key years of Nero's reign, by turns horrible and very funny. To be recommended to anyone with an interest in ancient Rome.

FF: Nero is notorious for having "fiddled while Rome burnt". Petronius, Nero's pleasure-loving Advisor on Taste, finds to his dismay, that his personal sympathies lie more with the mad Emperor than the dark forces that seek to keep him in check.