The Course of Honour

“Oh, Antonia Caenis...Welcome to freedom - And welcome to me!”
chosen by reader, Helene Ilg

Plot Summary

   A tantalising half-sentence in Suetonius' biography says that after his wife died, Vespasian 'took up again with Caenis, his former mistress and one of Antonia's freedwomen and secretaries, who remained his wife in all but name even when he became Emperor'.
     To a would-be romantic novelist struggling to find an original setting, this was the archetypal secretary-to-boardroom plot -- a true story, with a decent hero, not to mention a heroine who must have had a sterling character. The political events familiar from 'I, Claudius' are viewed from a close vantage point, but without the traditional male, aristocratic bias which some people even today try to impose on all things classical. A love story in which young lovers come together a second time in their middle age would be highly unusual at any period.
     Even though people who read this novel thought it my best, the Roman setting deterred publishers for ten years. When it did finally appear in the UK, many readers enjoyed it even more than the Falco series. The script was originally turned down in America -- causing a unique protest from US readers who mobilised on the Internet and forced a rethink; this may be a 'first'!
     It was The Course of Honour that gave me the idea for Falco. Most obviously, researching the historical background to Rome -- so vibrant and so notoriously dangerous -- inspired his working milieu. In fact, though, professional writers are often led by sheer desperation. I had given my all to Antonia Caenis, with whom I closely identified: a single woman in a society geared to families, an intelligent woman working in a hostile male environment, a sceptical woman viewing the idiocies of politics through helping to administer them. When The Course of Honour went to the back of the wardrobe, I was broke - but I had found my courage as an author. Without that, The Silver Pigs would never have been written. Without Falco, my story of Caenis would not have seen the light of day …
     The book carries no formal dedication, but it is, in Veronica's words, for all the girls in all the palaces who sleep on flea-ridden pallets on stone ledges in cold cells, and who live by the hope that one day they will rise to a better place. They will know who I mean.

Reviews

Caenis herself is cleverly drawn, as a spirited, original, strikingly down-to-earth observer of a corrupt and corrupting world; and her whole story … is as hard to put down as any of Davis's novels - Mary Beard, The Independent

Extremely good on banquets, street-life and domestic detail - as well as being a convincing love story - Mail on Sunday - Mail on Sunday

Davis's tale of forbidden love against the backdrop of Rome's most turbulent period is irresistible - The Good Book Guide - The Good Book Guide

With meticulous detail and powerful drama, Davis chronicles Vespasian's remarkable rise to power and Caenis's equally compelling success in shaping her own future. As presented in this intricate braiding of character and action, fact and imagination, these two strong characters, bound by passionate and enduring love and parted often by what Vespasian bitterly refers to as the "cursus honorum" deserve to take their place in the pantheon of the world's great lovers." -Publisher's Weekly (U.S.)

Davis here transmutes a stray historical aside into a rich and compelling piece of fiction. The full sweep of history in this turbulent period in the Mediteranean basin is the background for casual details of what was eaten, what was worn, and what daily life was like. Caenis is deeply intelligent, self-contained, and no-nonsense; her love for Vespasian (and his for her) is developed in a way that makes sense to both the head and the heart. Their trials and separations and reconciliations are the stuff of great romantic reading. - Booklist. - Booklist

...the epitome of superb writing. - Rendezvous  

The Course of Honour | The Silver Pigs | Shadows in Bronze | Venus in Copper
The Iron Hand of Mars | Poseidon's Gold | Last Act in Palmyra
Time to Depart | A Dying Light in Corduba | Three Hands in the Fountain
Two for the Lions | One Virgin too Many | Ode to a Banker
A Body in the Bath House | The Jupiter Myth | The Accusers
Scandal Takes a Holiday | See Delphi and Die | Saturnalia
Alexandria