The Course of Honour

This is the fictionalized biography of Antonia Caenis, the woman the Emperor Vespasian loved his entire life. Due to Roman law, they could never marry, as she was born a slave, even after she became a freed woman. As a prophet told her and the future ruler of Rome, her face would never be on the coinage. Caenis is an empathetic personality. Touchy, but brilliant, she never gave up on her love and did everything possible to launch his brilliant career. The weaving of these lives into the history and politics of Rome was excellently done, as Caenis was first hand witness to the more spectacular events of the Julio-Claudian dynasty. As a long term fan of Davis' Falco mystery series, this is the best thing she's written. She found a female show more voice, who though stoic can't be called long suffering, as she succeeded in a world designed to defeat her. show less

Unlike her other novels, this is not a murder mystery, but a novel about the romance between Antonia Caenis and Vespasian, which lasted from their youth when she was a slave and he was the son of a provincial tax collector, and lasted until her death when he was Emperor of Rome and she lived openly as his freedwoman consort (he could not under Roman law marry a freedwoman). Funny, engaging and horrible in places (as is inevitably going to be the case in a novel set in the times of the Julio-Claudians), this is for me a more interesting read than the Falco whodunnits, which I quite like but find a bit too superficial compared to the murder mysteries of Steven Saylor.

I adore Davis' Falco series set in Vespasian's Rome, its one of my favorite historical mysteries and if there's a new one, I always read it. This book is Davis' take on Vespasian's career told through the eyes of Caenis, the slave and then freedwoman who he loved throughout his entire life. We follow everything through Caenis' eyes. She is a slave in the palace and then later for Antonia, so has a unique perspective on the Claudians. The romance between Vespasian and Caenis is subtly presented as their lives are complicated in terms of class, money and politics. Davis handles it all deftly as well as weaving through it a knowledge of yes, we all know how this ends but lets play in the details. Reading this made me want to go and reread show more and rewatch I, Claudius, which examines the same general area in time, a masterful historical novel. show less

Definitely a romance, well more love story, not a mystery, like Davis's Falco series. Loved it from the point of view of a strong woman. Good descriptions, I could really picture ancient Rome, without going overboard and getting boring, same with the historical context. Liked the portrait and development of an emperor before he became or even thought about it.

This is not a romance novel. That's really important to know, because if you're looking for a romance novel (it is, for some reason that totally escapes me, labeled as "romantic suspense") this is not the book for you.It is however, a very good and enjoyable novel about love. • Lindsey Davis has mastered the history of Rome and I couldn't pick out any historical errors - there might be some, but I sure didn't see 'em, or if I did it was good enough I didn't care.• The lead character is kind of an awesome feminist figure. She's incredibly independent and takes no shit. Also, it doesn't do that awful thing where they pretend life ends at 30. We follow about 40 years of her life - and she never stops being herself.• Historical show more characters seem like they're real breathing living people. She makes the world feel incredibly alive and real and immediate.• The story develops in a very organic kind of way, feeling like a life story, not like a forced narrative. This actually works really well - I was interested enough that I wanted to know what would happen, even without a plot-driven narrative.----• I probably wouldn't have been nearly so interested if I hadn't known my Roman history like the back of my hand - the reason the narrative worked was that I knew that Vespasian would be emperor someday (OMG spoilers! But seriously, it's 2,000 years old) and I just wanted to see how it would happen. show less

This is not a romance novel. That's really important to know, because if you're looking for a romance novel (it is, for some reason that totally escapes me, labeled as "romantic suspense") this is not the book for you.It is however, a very good and enjoyable novel about love. • Lindsey Davis has mastered the history of Rome and I couldn't pick out any historical errors - there might be some, but I sure didn't see 'em, or if I did it was good enough I didn't care.• The lead character is kind of an awesome feminist figure. She's incredibly independent and takes no shit. Also, it doesn't do that awful thing where they pretend life ends at 30. We follow about 40 years of her life - and she never stops being herself.• Historical show more characters seem like they're real breathing living people. She makes the world feel incredibly alive and real and immediate.• The story develops in a very organic kind of way, feeling like a life story, not like a forced narrative. This actually works really well - I was interested enough that I wanted to know what would happen, even without a plot-driven narrative.----• I probably wouldn't have been nearly so interested if I hadn't known my Roman history like the back of my hand - the reason the narrative worked was that I knew that Vespasian would be emperor someday (OMG spoilers! But seriously, it's 2,000 years old) and I just wanted to see how it would happen. show less

Wavering between 3 and 4 stars. The middle part, when Vespasian is mostly absent, definitely drags a little; plus at times (especially the chapters covering the Year of the Four Emperors) it feels more like reading a history textbook than a novel, albeit an engaging one. But I LOVE the relationship between Caenis and Vespasian. I love how the author doesn't try to downplay or modernize the concept of "duty" as the Romans understood it. Also, love how the nods to Suetonius are worked in--Vespasian referred to as Sabinus' footman, etc., etc. Overall, an enjoyable read.