The historical novel, Reluctant Conspirator, will take you back to Ancient Rome in AD 79

Read a Historical Fiction Novel Before Visiting Rome

by Pliny the Elder, Historian

Whether it will be your first visit to Rome or

the fifth, the excitement is building. Youve
purchased the popular travel guidebooks and
viewed Romes tourist websites. Every hour of your
stay has been planned in advance to sightsee all
the major attractions the Eternal City offers.
Now what? You still have two weeks before
you depart.
How about letting your mind wander back to
Ancient Rome? Experience life in AD 79 and how
Roman citizens went about their everyday life.
Fancy yourself being present at an
Allow your mind to wander as you wear your finest emperors banquet at the Imperial Palace mingling
toga to a dinner party hosted by a famous Roman with Romes elitesenators, military generals,
philosopher. Shutter at the thought of being a philosophers, and artists dipping salted bread in
gladiator awaiting your turn to enter the arena or
a cup of wine and eating figs.
envision yourself debating, before the Curia Julia, Many of the characters in a historical novel
an issue as a senator. Better yet, imagine how you are real. Theres me, for example, Pliny the Elder
might wield power as Emperor of Rome. (AD 23 AD 79) in Reluctant Conspirator, written
The most effective way to go back in time by Martin Diano. My claim to fame is writing the
as a Roman senator, a gladiator, or an emperor is encyclopedia Naturalis Historia, which has become
to read a historical fiction novel which is set in the template for all future encyclopedias.
Ancient Rome.
For certain, as you walk the streets of
Ancient Rome the characters you read about in a
historical fiction novel will come alive.

In wine, theres
When youre at
Flavian Amphitheatre (better known today as The truth, is the theme of
Colosseum), your imagination will take you back to
the famous gladiatorial battle between Priscus and Chapter X of Reluctant
Versus and how, after hours of fierce combat, they
fought to a draw. Conspirator.
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 The historical novel, Reluctant Conspirator, will take you back to Ancient Rome in AD 79
AD 69, becoming the fourth emperor in twelve
months.
The summer of AD 79 marked Vespasian's
tenth year as emperor. He remained in power by
purging his enemies and buying the support of the
senate and praetorian guard. To consolidate his
power and solidify the line of family succession, he
named both of his sons to high military positions.
The decision was met with disdain and enabled his
enemies list to flourish.
His throne was imperiled.
One man in Rome can lay claim to having
served all the emperors during this period. His
name was Pliny the Elder. Is he the man who can
save the Flavian Dynasty?
Pliny the Elder receives a secret dispatch
from Emperor Vespasian. Bearing the official
emperor's seal, the message says: Be in
attendance at the Imperial Palace to meet with me
on the morning of 3 Augustam. Say nothing of this
to anyone. Vespasian
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One final thought: If your plans call for a day

trip to Pompeii, stop at my villa in the nearby
seaside resort town of Misenum. Rest, enjoy a cup
of wine, and take in the spectacular views.

Reluctant Conspirator: The Legacy of

Pliny the Elder by Martin Diano
In the first century AD, Rome was at the
pinnacle of its power.
Mighty as the empire was, Rome spends
much of the first century in tumult. Politics had
become a blood sport. Assassinations, treachery,
and despotism were the norm.
A time of particular turbulence was AD 14
69. Nero opts for suicide. Claudius had been About Pliny the Elder
poisoned by his wife. Four emperors were Pliny the Elder is Magistrate of the Roman
murdered: Caligula, Galba, Piso, and Vitellius. By naval fleet in Port Julius in the Bay at Naples at
year's end, Vespasian Flavius, an army general, Misenum. Hes a lawyer, historian, and author of
marched his troops on Rome and seized power in the encyclopedia Naturalis Historia.
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