INTERVIEW WITH MARGARET GEORGE

No you all are not hallucinating.  My blog is no longer covered with cyber-space cobwebs; I have a brand-new blog up and ready to read.  Who says the Age of Miracles is over?     I was fortunate enough to lure Margaret George here to discuss her new novel.  But before we begin the interview, I have news about my own new novel, THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA.  It is finally done and is currently in the care of my editors at Putnam’s and Macmillan’s.  While there are some loose ends to tie up and the Author’s Note still to finish, the Deadline Dragon has been defeated at long last.  Of course he is still hanging around the house, blowing smoke rings and sneering.  It is not easy to evict a dragon, but at least he can be ignored for now.  I do not know when THE LAND BEYOND THE SEA will be published, will spread the word as soon as it reaches me.

I am so pleased to have Margaret George here.  She is one of my favorite writers and a friend and wherever he is in the Hereafter, Nero must be thanking his lucky stars that she chose to tell his amazing, improbable story.    Welcome, Margaret.   Shall we get started?   I suspect that patience is not one of Nero’s virtues.  In fact, many people probably assume he had no virtues at all, so your novel is going to be a revelation for them.

SKP:  It’s a pleasure to talk with you about the continuation of Nero’s life story, THE SPLENDOR BEFORE THE DARK.  Tell me, how did you choose that title?

MG: The right title is hard to find, but I thought this one really summed up his reign—there was a burst of creative energy, glitter, and excitement about it, before his dynasty, that was founded by Julius Caesar, collapsed in A.D. 68.  I wanted people to realize it was a high point in Roman history, not to be overshadowed by the negative things in the popular imagination connected with Nero. Historians have dubbed it ‘the Neronian Era’ and very few rulers get an era named after them.

SKP:  Of course the first question people probably ask you is: why Nero?  Why did you want to write about him?

MG:  I am drawn to people in history that seem to be unfairly condemned in the popular imagination, starting with Henry VIII.  You remember that, as an anti-Tudor person.  But you kindly read that book with an open mind.  I am just asking people to set aside their preconceptions and read about Nero with an open mind.

SKP:  But I assume there must be more to it than just that someone has a bad reputation.  After all, some people have earned that bad reputation!

MG:  Indeed they have, and well deserve it!  But Nero is an example of those whose legacy was written entirely by his enemies, and who had the misfortune to have the balancing positive appraisals of him lost in time.  Whenever a new regime comes in, whether it’s a change of dynasty in ancient Rome or a change of president in the U.S., immediately the new emperor or president, and their party, want to undo what their predecessor did, and blacken their name.  Nero was a victim of this.  I am just trying to let the suppressed voices on the other side have a say.

SKP:  Nero is one of those larger than life characters, who scarcely seem real.  He’s the Roman emperor who is a household name, who is seen in countless cartoons fiddling while Rome burned.  What was the real Nero like?

MG: I think the key to his character was that he was like a modern young person (and remember, he became emperor when he was only sixteen) who wants to be an artist—a writer, a musician, an actor—and is told by his family it’s not practical, and he has to go to law school instead.  In Nero’s case, it was that he had to be a politician.  But the conflict between the role he had to play in order to survive, and what he felt was the ‘real him’ is what makes him fascinating, sympathetic, and modern.  We can relate to that.

SKP:  But what about his art?  Was he any good?  People now laugh about it and assume he was a buffoon.

MG:  He was involved in many facets of art.  But none of his poetry, none of his sculpture, none of his musical compositions survive.  The one thing that does, however, the Domus Aurea—the Golden House in Rome—is a showcase of his revolutionary architectural vision. Nero was actively involved in designing of the building, working closely with his favorite architects Severus and Celer. Its stunning frescoes (the palace was rediscovered in the late 1400’s) influenced Raphael, who visited it, and other Renaissance artists.  It used light as an architectural element, centuries before Frank Lloyd Wright.  The Octagon Room, the first Roman building to have an open dome supported not by central pillars but by weight-baring arches on the sides, was the forerunner of the Pantheon.

SKP:  But it was not all work with him, right?  He is famous for throwing the ultimate toga party. Probably in the Domus Aurea!

MG:  No doubt about it, he liked to have a good time, and insisted on inviting the common people—with whom he felt more at home than with the senators and patricians—to join in with him, with banquets in the Forum, chariot racing, and athletic contests.  (Ironically, he didn’t like togas—he found them uncomfortable and too ‘establishment’.)  He gave the city a state of the art gymnasium and training ground, and would exercise there in public in his loincloth!

SKP: But in spite of this, he fell from power and was ousted by a new dynasty, the Flavians.  Why?

MG:  There are several theories about this—that he had made enemies of the Senate by bypassing them for the common people, that he didn’t pay enough attention to the military, that he was seen as a byword for frivolity—but I think the ultimate reason was that he chose his art over being emperor.  He embarked on a sixteen month artistic and athletic tour of Greece, in spite of warnings this was dangerous. Sure enough, in his absence conspiracies grew in Rome.  By the time he was summoned back to save his reign, it was too late.   His last words, “What an artist the world is losing!” shows how he saw himself.  He didn’t say, “What an emperor the world is losing!”

SKP:  Is there any parallel to him today?

MG:  Unlike some historical characters that get a modern makeover, Nero is impossible to update, he was so unique, and his actions so specific to that time and place, that no—there has never been, and will never be, another Nero.

SKP:   This was fascinating, Margaret.  Thank you so much for agreeing to discuss the new book with us.   For new readers, THE SPLENDOR BEFORE THE DARK is the second in a two book series by Margaret; she began Nero’s story with THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO.   I knew very little about Nero before reading these books and have a much better understanding now of this controversial yet compelling man and the times in which he lived.

November 5, 2018