The Flames of Rome [antikvár]

PREFACEO OME of the most extraordinary, colorful, and tragic events in all of history shook Rome in the score of years following a.d. 47. Claudius and then Nero ruled over that volatile blend of idealism, sensuality, and cruelty which was the Roman Empire. Into such an unlikely setting Christianity made its own quietthen shockingentry, and a mortal struggle between the worlds of power and faith began. This is a serious attempt to reconstruct that conflict through portrayal of a Roman family caught up in the clash.Since the true story of these times is so much more intriguing than the many fictionalized versions, I have not tampered with known facts in retelling itunlike almost all historical novelistsnor invented characters that could never match the kind who actually lived in this era. The factual undergirding is documented in the Notes, some of which unveil new historical data.But here as elsewhere in ancient history, yawning gaps in the original sources prevent any telling of the full story. I have tried to fill these in by devising a genre which I call the "documentary novel," resorting to fiction for such connective material as well as dramatization, dialogue, and subplot to flesh out the story and bring its characters to life.To insure accuracy, I adopted these rules: 1) All perspns named in the book are historical; no proper name has been inventedif it is hot known, it is not given. 2) No portrayal of any personality, description of any event, episode, or even detail contradicts historical fact (unless by author's error). 3) Only where all evidence is lacking is "constructed history," based on probabilities, used to fill in the gaps. Such created segments are clearly identified in the Notes.ix