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The Course of Honor

4.1 of 5 stars 4.10 · rating details · 623 ratings · 52 reviews

In ancient Rome, ambitious citizens who aspired to political power, to become one of the ruling elite—a senator, had to follow what was known as “The Course of Honor.” This course had only one unbreakable rule: a senator is forbidden to marry a slave, even a freed slave. When the soldier Vespasian meets an interesting girl in the imperial palace, he doesn’t know she is a s...more

Paperback, 336 pages

Published February 1st 2003 by Mysterious Press (first published 1998)

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Mar 07, 2012 Smcleish rated it 4 of 5 stars

Originally published on my blog here in June 1998.

The Course of Honour is, like most of Davis' novels, set in the Rome of the first century AD. Unlike these novels, its main character is historical, not the private detective Falco. Caenis was a slave to Antonia, who was related to most of the early emperors of Rome. She received her freedom, and became the mistress of an obscure young senator (a Sabine rather than a true Roman) named Vespasian.

Though the two of them find true love together, Caen...more

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Sep 17, 2011 Stephanie rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: female-author, worthwhile-historical-fiction

This book had several things working in its favor,if you're looking for something a little different. It's set in Ancient Rome and focuses on Vespasian- a nice deviation from the Julio-Claudians and the five good emperors. (Granted large swathes of time take place during the Julio-Claudians' reign, but it was nice to not have them as the focus. Not really.) As another unique choice, the main character turns out to be a slave who rises to the middle class. Granted, Caenis was fortunate enough to...more

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Dec 14, 2010 Jeannette Barnes rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

This is one of my all-time favorites, and coincidentally, was the first novel Lindsey Davis ever wrote. It sat in her desk drawer for, oh, about twenty years, before her phenomenal success with the Falco series (which I also mostly love) made her bold enough to dust this oft-rejected book off and give it another try.

Based on a true story about the love of the Emperor Vespasian for the base-born but cultured, educated slave woman Caenis, this is not simply a love story that really happened to Rom...more

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Feb 18, 2013 Ien van Houten rated it 4 of 5 stars

Lindsey Davis is the author of a series of enjoyable detective stories set in ancient Rome during the reign of Vespasian, 69-79.

This book is the life story of Antonia Caenis, companion of Vespasian's later years. Like many historical novels the author has used a real but marginal person as the main character. The kernel of the story is there, but there is plenty of room for invention. Antonia Caenis is first encountered as a barefoot slave. Her intelligence and character win her a position as p...more

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Oct 21, 2011 Rosanne Lortz rated it 4 of 5 stars

After finishing all twenty of Lindsey Davis’ Falco novels, I’ve moved on to some of her other historical fiction. Yesterday’s rainy afternoon brought me to the end of The Course of Honor, an early novel by Davis. Vespasian, the miserly and curmudgeonly emperor who was in love with assigning Marcus Didius Falco thankless tasks, is in love with something else entirely in this book. That something, or someone, is Antonia Caenis, an imperial freedwoman and Vespasian’s longtime mistress. The novel pi...more After finishing all twenty of Lindsey Davis’ Falco novels, I’ve moved on to some of her other historical fiction. Yesterday’s rainy afternoon brought me to the end of The Course of Honor, an early novel by Davis. Vespasian, the miserly and curmudgeonly emperor who was in love with assigning Marcus Didius Falco thankless tasks, is in love with something else entirely in this book. That something, or someone, is Antonia Caenis, an imperial freedwoman and Vespasian’s longtime mistress. The novel picks up at their first meeting and traces their tumultuous relationship all the way until Vespasian’s accession to the imperial throne. The cover bills it as a novel of “romantic suspense.” It is definitely romantic, though if you take the word “suspense” to mean “thriller,” you would be sorely misled. I suppose the suspense is mostly over whether this star-crossed couple can achieve a happily ever after or if circumstances will inevitably force them apart.

Lindsey Davis masterfully depicts the reigns of half a dozen emperors, beginning with Tiberius, showing it all through the eyes of Caenis. As a skilled scribe in the household of one of Caesar’s relatives, Caenis is privy to many revolutionary plots and imperial secrets. She first meets Titus Flavius Vespasianus when he is just an impoverished young nobleman from the countryside, looking to ascend the ranks of office (the course of honor) in Rome. Vespasian notes her intelligence and wit. His first thought upon meeting her–a thought that continues with him throughout his life–is: “What an interesting girl!”

Caenis eventually agrees to become Vespasian’s mistress. She knows that the happiness of being with him cannot last forever since the laws of the time forbade Roman senators (or emperors) from marrying former slaves. The best Vespasian and Caenis can hope for is to grow old together outside lawful wedlock and, since this is an unlikely prospect, Caenis tries to conceal the fact that she is desperately in love with him–perhaps that will make things easier when they are forced to part. The Roman ranks of government were weighted heavily against bachelors, and when Vespasian’s family finds a suitable bride for him, both of the lovers accept the inevitable separation.

The years go by as debauched emperor after debauched emperor ascends the throne. Caenis and Vespasian catch only brief glimpses of each other, but as long as his wife is still alive, they honorably keep their distance from one another. When that obstacle disappears, happiness once again seems in reach. But when a tumultuous empire, ruled by four different men in just one year, acclaims Vespasian as the new emperor, the new obstacle of his imperial status threatens to pull them apart once more….

Usually, I am annoyed by novels where the hero/heroine settle for a lifelong commitment outside of marriage. But in the case of this book, I was rooting for them all the way. Lindsey Davis shows very pointedly that Vespasian would have married Caenis if he could–but the laws of Rome stood in the way. I suppose he could have given up his senatorial status and voluntarily become a commoner (if matrimony was that important to him), but somehow that never really seemed an option in the novel. Caenis was beautifully portrayed as a clever, careful woman, hard to draw out of her shell, scrupulous, loyal, and slightly embittered by her fate. Vespasian also came to life as her perfect partner, jovial and martial, with a tender, romantic side. Although the novel lacked much of the witty banter that I adore about Lindsey Davis’ Falco series, it was an excellent read and one that I highly recommend for Roman history aficionados.(less)

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Sep 14, 2012 Terence rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Fans of historical fiction & Vespasian

Shelves: historical-fiction

Lindsey Davis likes Vespasian. She likes him a great deal as even a cursory reading of her M Didius Falco series proves.

I like Vespasian. Among Rome’s many rulers, he ranks up there – in my opinion – with Augustus, Aurelian and Septimius Severus. And if I had the opportunity to have dinner with any emperor, he’d be the one I’d like to sit down with (or recline in the case of a Roman meal).

But Course of Honor* is not Vespasian’s story. It’s the story of the woman he loved – the freedwoman Antonia...more

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Jul 31, 2012 Jenny Brown rated it 5 of 5 stars

I loved this book! It was the kind of historical novel that I cut my teeth on growing up--the kind that made me love history and want to know more about it. Not dumbed down. Not 100% focused on a romance or adventure plot.

There is a love story at the heart of it--a very good one that rang true to me.

My sole issue with it was that it's hard for me to feel all warm and fuzzy about the roman general who destroyed Jerusalem and began the diaspora. It takes some suspension of belief to want him to...more

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Nov 01, 2009 Denise rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Poignant story of Antonia Caenis--lifetime love of the Roman Emperor--Titus Vespasian--in the first century A.D. Born a slave in the imperial palace, she was employed as a secretary by the daughter of Marc Antony. Caenis loved only one man in her lifetime (Vespasian). She earned her freedom and watched from the sidelines while a procession of imperial emperors ruled Rome. A very private woman with deep feelings of inadequacy she was also educated and highly intelligent. An equal match for the st...more

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Mar 27, 2013 Jane rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: owned-books, favorites

This is Davis' retelling of the lifelong love between Vespasian and Antonia Caenis. He was proceeding through the cursus honorum [Course of honour], a series of political positions which Roman patrician or equestrian young men would follow, from senator with possibility to rise to Consul. Caenis was a slave/amenuensis then freedwoman to Antonia, mother of Emperor Claudius. Caenis' personality and actions are purely from Davis's imagination. Caenis is mentioned only briefly in Suetonius and there...more

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Dec 22, 2012 Gaile rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: ancient-rome, emery-s-2012-challenge-gaile-kenne, rhfl-2012-challenge

Titus Flavius Vespanianus meets Caenis, a slave girl in their youth. Caenis knows she is not beautiful but she is clever and she had been plucked from other slave girls to be educated.
Now secretary to Antonia, the widow of the son of the Empress Livia, Caenis is without illusions.
She knows she is not beautiful. She knows she is a worthless slave. Vespanianus has ambitions in politics. Never once does Caenis hold him back but never does she go against her principles.
Caenis lives through nine emp...more

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Nov 13, 2008 Flourish rated it 4 of 5 stars Recommends it for: romance readers, classicists, historical fiction fans, older women

This is not a romance novel. That's really important to know, because if you're looking for a romance novel (it is, for some reason that totally escapes me, labeled as "romantic suspense") this is not the book for you.

It is however, a very good and enjoyable novel about love.

++++
• Lindsey Davis has mastered the history of Rome and I couldn't pick out any historical errors - there might be some, but I sure didn't see 'em, or if I did it was good enough I didn't care.
• The lead character is kind o...more

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Jul 03, 2008 Charlie rated it 5 of 5 stars

This writer equals my love for Mary Renault and Taylor Caldwell or Robert Graves, whom we used to say must have reincarnated from the times they wrote about- such is the depth of intimate knowledge of ancient times and daily living in them.
Antonia, daughter of Mark Anthony, rich, powerful, cunning, wily, needs a scribe to write a most important letter and having no one else available must bring Caenis, an untried slave into her confidence. From there we are led into a maze of politicking for po...more This writer equals my love for Mary Renault and Taylor Caldwell or Robert Graves, whom we used to say must have reincarnated from the times they wrote about- such is the depth of intimate knowledge of ancient times and daily living in them.
Antonia, daughter of Mark Anthony, rich, powerful, cunning, wily, needs a scribe to write a most important letter and having no one else available must bring Caenis, an untried slave into her confidence. From there we are led into a maze of politicking for power and survival in Rome through several Caesar's, endless assasinations, face saving suicides, exiles, returns from exile, carefully plotted marriages, and endless debauchery and treachery. I became familiar with the social structure and how it worked, the government and how it worked, the use of power in spite of an apparent balance of power, and learned very vividly the characters of the players.
Caenis becomes the favorite of Antonia who eventually grants her freedom and provides for her. Almost accidentally Caenis meets the brash soldier Vespasian, who many years later winds up Caesar himself. The two cat and mouse it through their lives, necessarily separate because there are laws forbidding Romans to marry slaves or even freed women. The two match each other magnificently in stubborness, pride, and painful honesty with each other. I wanted to lam each of them up side the head with a lead pipe, but every move they made was well calculated in their life or death dance to gain accessibility to each other. Veronica, a very rich ex slave now courtesan and professional hostess befriends her and advises her through her life and career after Antonia passes on. Veronica is wise, cynical, and tons of fun. Needless to say, not as honorable as Caenis who seldom takes her advice but values her information of the rich and powerful.
I couldn't put this book down and wolfed potato chips all the way through it.( No no Charles). Lindsey wove this true tale( all the characters existed) as I devoured every move, every nuance, every chip of every major figure of the times. Few emperors lasted more than 4 years except for Claudius and Nero who lasted about 14 years. One year is known as the Year of the Four Emperors. Vespasian finally becomes Emperor through an odd selection by military commanders putting up their own candidate in the face of an emperor even they couldn't abide.
I loved the knowledge of the layout of the city and moving about and how folks managed their moneys to jockey for position. Sure reminded me of NYC and how important it is there to be identified by the section of town one lives in. ( and how private individuals exploit public property and public funds). This is a great read for historical fiction buffs. The delicacies of the long unrequited love affair based on true fact really grabs ya.(less)

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Oct 25, 2009 Sarah rated it 2 of 5 stars

Something about Lindsey Davis' writing style really bugs me. Large chunks of this novel consisted of her abandoning her lacklustre plot to retell Roman history in her own words, which to me misses the point of historical fiction. Write a history book if you really find it that fascinating, DAVIS! Plus, the hero and heroine were always spouting the cheesiest one-liners at each other and I kept coming across entire sentences in italics for no reason at all.

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Aug 09, 2010 Erica Anderson rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, 2010-reads

A really amazing piece of historical fiction set in ancient Rome, this novel is a bittersweet romance and political thriller that focuses on the rise to power of the Emperor Vespasian and the life-long relationship he has with a slave whom he loves but can never marry. Davis brings Rome to life with detail and beauty and sets her protagonists against a tumultuous backdrop of murder and intrigue. Political machinations loom large in this work, which may be rough going for those not inclined towar...more

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May 11, 2013 Nicky Moxey rated it 5 of 5 stars

I find it unbelievable (but very heartening, for my own literary efforts) that this, Ms Davis' first novel, struggled to find a publisher. I much prefer it to her Falco books, for instance. I love the delicacy with which the relationship's distances are played out; and I'm planning on stealing her handling of time passing for my next novel. A lovely, intricate, sensitive read.

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Aug 12, 2012 Patricia Bracewell rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

This book was similar to "Master and God" - a tale of 2 lovers, only this time one of them becomes emperor. This is the earlier book, and I did not find the history lessons in this one as invasive and distracting as in "Master and God". The story line stayed with the characters for the most part.For that reason I think this is the stronger, if less ambitious, book.

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Jul 03, 2012 Kate K. F. rated it 5 of 5 stars

I adore Davis' Falco series set in Vespasian's Rome, its one of my favorite historical mysteries and if there's a new one, I always read it. This book is Davis' take on Vespasian's career told through the eyes of Caenis, the slave and then freedwoman who he loved throughout his entire life. We follow everything through Caenis' eyes. She is a slave in the palace and then later for Antonia, so has a unique perspective on the Claudians. The romance between Vespasian and Caenis is subtly presented...more

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Aug 26, 2012 Jennifer Karch Verzè rated it 4 of 5 stars

This is an historical novel with many references to Roman history and it becomes an easy and enjoyable way to move into that difficult and long historical moment of Roman histsory. I really enjoyed it and throughout the reading documented various aspects of the book. I need to teach Roman art and through a novel of this sort I was able to enter into Roman life, culture and ways of living that otherwise would have been difficult. I would like to read more for sure.

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Nov 03, 2012 Denise rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, drama, read-in-2012

Before reading this book I hadn't read much historical fiction that takes place in Ancient Rome, so this was pretty new to me. I loved that this was based on real people and real events. This was fascinating and written well. I would definitely recommend this to anyone interested in Ancient Rome or any historical fiction fans. I look forward to reading more of Lindsey Davis' books.

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Oct 22, 2009 Betty rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I loved this book. I literally read it every chance I got, even if I only had five minutes. Very lively, interesting dialogue and characters.

I've read the Marcus Didius Falco mysteries by Lindsey Davis. This one is a stand alone. If you have any interest at all in ancient Rome, I think you'll be pleased.

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Aug 13, 2012 Claire rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is one of the most moving historical novels based on fact that I have ever read. Ms. Davis usually writes entertaining and intelligent mysteries set in ancient Rome. This book is a stand-alone, and I've read it numerous times. It is wonderful.

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Aug 03, 2011 Beth Tedford rated it 5 of 5 stars

This is out of the Marcus Falco series, but it is still about ancient Rome. It is an historical novel about the Emperor Vespasian & his long time mistress Caenis Antonia. Not quite as well written as the Falco series but worth the read.

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Jul 24, 2010 Phair rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, classical-era

Having always loved the Falco mysteries by Davis I wasn't sure what to expect from this departure. I ended up loving the story of Vespasian and his lady love- they seemed very real to me and the detail about daily life was wonderful.

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Apr 16, 2009 Ron rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction

NOT one of the Falco mysteries, this is a lovely treatment of Vespasian's rise to power and his long-term love affair with a slave woman. Very sympathetic treatment; Davis clearly likes both of these characters. Highly enjoyable.

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Nov 04, 2012 Sharyn rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction

Excellent historical fiction based on the remarkable life of Antonia Caenis who was born a slave in Ancient Rome, rose to the rank of freedwoman, and was the lifelong love of the Emperor Vespasian.

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Jan 30, 2013 Amanda McCrina rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: historical-fiction, rome, romance, italy

Wavering between 3 and 4 stars. The middle part, when Vespasian is mostly absent, definitely drags a little; plus at times (especially the chapters covering the Year of the Four Emperors) it feels more like reading a history textbook than a novel, albeit an engaging one. But I LOVE the relationship between Caenis and Vespasian. I love how the author doesn't try to downplay or modernize the concept of "duty" as the Romans understood it. Also, love how the nods to Suetonius are worked in--Vespasia...more

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Aug 20, 2012 Moira added it

This was my first Lindsey Davis book 10 years ago. I was hooked. Then I went on to the Falco mysteries. I enjoy her books set in Roman times, I can imagine being there.

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Jun 03, 2009 Susan rated it 5 of 5 stars

If you love novels set during the Roman Empire, this book won't disappoint you. Loved the characters, the story and the history. Almost as good as Gillian Bradshaw.

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Jun 03, 2010 Joyce Moore rated it 4 of 5 stars

Shelves: i-ve-read

I used this for a research book when I was writing a novel set in Ancient Rome, but it turned out to have an interesting plot and I read it to the end.

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Jan 18, 2010 Karen rated it 5 of 5 stars

This book is so different from Ms. Davis' other books (Falco series). After just finishing I, Claudius, it was an interesting take on the early history of the Roman Empire from the viewpoint of Caenis, the ex-slave.

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About Lindsey Davis

Lindsey Davis, historical novelist, was born in Birmingham, England in 1949. Having taken a degree in English literature at Oxford University (Lady Margaret Hall), she became a civil servant. She left the civil service after 13 years, and when a romantic novel she had written was runner up for the 1985 Georgette Heyer Historical Novel Prize, she decided to become a writer, writing at first romanti...more

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Books by Lindsey Davis

The Silver Pigs (Marcus Didius Falco, #1)

The Iron Hand of Mars (Marcus Didius Falco, #4)

Shadows in Bronze (Marcus Didius Falco, #2)

Venus in Copper (Marcus Didius Falco, #3)

Poseidon's Gold (Marcus Didius Falco, #5)

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