Vestal Virgins in “Brides of Rome”

The historical events of Brides of Rome have been covered so many times in other novels.

It’s really hard to bring anything new to retelling the assassination of Caesar and the early rise of Augustus. This is the setting and the conflict in The Throne of Caesar. I, Claudius has a gossipy account of the backstabbing Julio-Claudians. The SPQR Roman mystery series begins in the faction-filled end of the republic, the Marcus Corvinus mysteries start in the Julio-Claudian family, too. Caesar’s Women is a racy and dramatic story of the end of the republic.  There are a lot of takes on the ides of March.

But… uh… I will just keep reading books set in ancient Rome forever and ever.

The brides of Rome are the Vestal Virgins, tasked with keeping the sacred fires of Vesta burning, lending dignitas and authority to major public occasions, and recording wills. They’re not usually the focus of Roman stories, maybe there’s a reference to a Vestal taking part in an occasion or passing a condemned criminal on the street, thus granting him a pardon. Here, the Vestals are present at key events, so even if the story follows the familiar path to empire, there’s a new perspective.  I loved the scenes of vestal life, especially the relationships between older vestals and younger ones.

The book does have a few surprises. The story adds some new characters to the expected historical ones. I don’t remember any accounts of Livia’s sister (but would old Suetonius have bothered writing down a mere woman’s female relatives?!?), who added so much drama to this story.  I didn’t love that one of the Vestals was secretly in love with a man. Partly because the charge of incestum was so serious (buried alive! bringing divine retribution on Rome!) and partly because I was annoyed by picking up a book about Vestals and getting a pining love story.

The moments I enjoyed most were hints to the future. Young Julia can’t stand her obnoxious stepbrother Tiberius, for example, and Livia wonders whether she and Augustus will ever have a son. Also, Caesarian dies offstage and his body isn’t shown, and since this novel played around with historical events, I think he might make a reappearance. And If I remember right, Augustus is going to relax some of the rules for vestal candidates in the next few years. Lots to come in the next book, I think.

Good choice for fans of The Throne of Caesar. Foreign Bodies, and Feast of Sorrow.