''Romanitas'' is an

alternate history Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

novel by

Sophia McDougall Sophia McDougall is a British novelist, playwright, and poet. Life and career McDougall is best known internationally as the author of alternate history novels published by Orion Publishing Group and based on the premise that the Roman Empire ...

, published by

Orion Books Orion Publishing Group Ltd. is a UK-based book publisher. It was founded in 1991 and acquired Weidenfeld & Nicolson the following year. The group has published numerous bestselling books by notable authors including Ian Rankin, Michael Connell ...

. It is the first of a trilogy of novels based on a world in which the

Roman Empire The Roman Empire ruled the Mediterranean and much of Europe, Western Asia and North Africa. The Roman people, Romans conquered most of this during the Roman Republic, Republic, and it was ruled by emperors following Octavian's assumption of ...

survives in contemporary times and now dominates much of the world. The

point of divergence Alternate history (also referred to as alternative history, allohistory, althist, or simply A.H.) is a subgenre of speculative fiction in which one or more historical events have occurred but are resolved differently than in actual history. As ...

is the assassination of Emperor

Pertinax Publius Helvius Pertinax ( ; 1 August 126 – 28 March 193) was Roman emperor for the first three months of 193. He succeeded Commodus to become the first emperor during the tumultuous Year of the Five Emperors. Born to the son of a freed sl ...

in 193; in this alternate timeline, the assassination plot is thwarted and Pertinax introduces a series of reforms that enable the Roman Empire to survive into the modern era. ''Romanitas'' was nominated for the

Sidewise Award for Alternate History The Sidewise Awards for Alternate History were established in 1995 to recognize the best alternate history stories and novels of the year. Overview The awards take their name from the 1934 short story " Sidewise in Time" by Murray Leinster, in w ...

in 2005.

Plot summary

After attending his parents' funeral, Marcus Novius Faustus Leo, the teenage nephew of the

emperor The word ''emperor'' (from , via ) can mean the male ruler of an empire. ''Empress'', the female equivalent, may indicate an emperor's wife (empress consort), mother/grandmother (empress dowager/grand empress dowager), or a woman who rules ...

(and

heir apparent An heir apparent is a person who is first in the order of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting by the birth of another person. A person who is first in the current order of succession but could be displaced by the birth of a more e ...

since the death of his father), is informed by his father's secretary Varius that his father Leo and his mother were murdered by a conspiracy concerned about Leo's ambition to abolish

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

. While this is happening, Varius' wife eats sweets given to Marcus by his cousin Makaria and dies of poisoning. Varius promptly arranges for Marcus to flee to a hidden refuge in

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

, run by Delir, an anti-slavery activist and secret ally of Leo. Meanwhile, a

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

slave named Una, who has the ability to read minds, rescues her brother Sulien who has been falsely accused of rape and sentenced to

crucifixion Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the condemned is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross, beam or stake and left to hang until eventual death. It was used as a punishment by the Achaemenid Empire, Persians, Ancient Carthag ...

. The three runaways meet in

Gaul Gaul () was a region of Western Europe first clearly described by the Roman people, Romans, encompassing present-day France, Belgium, Luxembourg, and parts of Switzerland, the Netherlands, Germany, and Northern Italy. It covered an area of . Ac ...

. Despite initial suspicion, they agree to help each other and travel to the refuge. However, Varius has been arrested and the conspirators force him to reveal the location of the refuge, as well as making him confess to the murder of Marcus's parents, as well as the murder of Marcus himself. Upon discovering that Varius has confessed to murdering him and his parents, Marcus decides to go to Rome to reveal he is in fact still alive, planning to reveal the conspiracy in public so the conspirators will be unable to kill him. He runs away from the refuge and travels to Rome, evading the soldiers sent to capture him. Una and Sulien follow him, but are unable to find him in time to prevent him revealing himself. Marcus reveals himself but is captured and taken to a hospital. There he is injected with a

hallucinogen Hallucinogens, also known as psychedelics, entheogens, or historically as psychotomimetics, are a large and diverse class of psychoactive drugs that can produce altered states of consciousness characterized by major alterations in thought, mo ...

by one of the conspirators so that when Emperor Faustus is taken to him, Marcus appears to be mad. As many of the Imperial family have succumbed to a hereditary madness in the past (including, apparently, Marcus' other uncle, Lucius), Faustus agrees to keep Marcus in seclusion. The runaway slaves make it to Rome, and manage to rescue Marcus from the asylum where he is being held. Thereafter, Marcus succeeds in revealing the truth about Varius' innocence to the emperor, as well as the plot to kill him. Makaria manages to exculpate herself from any involvement in the conspiracy, pouring suspicion onto the emperor's current wife, Tulliola.

References

External links

Official website

by The International Writers Magazine * 2005 British novels British alternative history novels Alternate history novels set in ancient Rome Orion Books books {{2000s-ah-novel-stub

Plot summary

See also

References

External links