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Loading... Augustus (1986)by Allan Massie
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Sign up for LibraryThing to find out whether you'll like this book. No current Talk conversations about this book. We know that Augustus, the first Roman emperor, did write an autobiography but it has not survived. Allan Massie gives a fictional account of what its contents might have been from the future Augustus's reaction to the assassination of Julius Caesar down to the end of his life. The book is divided into two parts, each of which is introduced by the fictional scholar, Aeneas Fraser-Graham. The first half takes us down to the victory over Antony and Cleopatra and their subsequent suicides, while the second half reflects on the personal tragedies which Augustus later suffered. Aeneas Fraser-Graham's introductions, though only taking about 10 pages altogether, were very funny. The first half of the "autobiography", written for Augustus's grandsons, was full of action and gave an exciting picture of Augustus as a young man. The second half, supposedly written over the last five years or so of his life, persuade us to see the first half in a different light, while the unconscious self-revelation in this part suggests a third view. A thoroughly enjoyable read on many levels. no reviews | add a review
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Augustus was the founder of the Roman Empire, adopted son of Julius Caesar, friend and later foe of Mark Antony, patron of Horace and Virgil. Frank and forceful, this putative autobiography tells his story from the assassination of Caesar, through his military, political and personal struggles to his final days as Emperor in everything but name. No library descriptions found. |
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Google Books — Loading... GenresMelvil Decimal System (DDC)823.914Literature English & Old English literatures English fiction Modern Period 1901-1999 1945-1999LC ClassificationRatingAverage:
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The book starts with Augustus speaking asides to his grandsons as the structure of the "autobiography". The content in this section is roughly chronological. But after 180 pages, we get Book 2, written with no stage whispers and jumping around in time. I felt as if Massie had got bored with his initial structure, or that his editor had told him to liven it up. Funnily, I wasn't bored, and would have been quite happy to continue in the original format. I found the chronological leaps a bit clumsy, not well referenced to time, and more than a little artificial.
But, as I reflected toward the end of the book, my problem was that the characters did not come to life. Augustus is good - the self justifying arrogance seems true to character, but none else seemed to be painted as deeply. Livia, Tiberius, Agrippa and Maecenas all seemed to be one dimensional - Maecenas as excessively camp, Agrippa as the gruff no-nonsense military man, and so on.
Read June 2015. ( )