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Forgiving Nero
Forbidden Love. Colliding Worlds. Shattered Beliefs.Rome. The jewel of the civilized world is no longer what it was. Strength has failed the Senate. Her legions are in disarray, and the Empire has fallen into Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus Nero’s hands. His reign begins under a cloud of scrutiny, for he is the depraved Emperor Caligula’s nephew. Nero is determined to overcome that stigma and carve a name of his own. One worthy of Rome’s illustrious history.Politics and treachery threaten to end Nero’s reign before it begins, forcing him to turn to unexpected sources for friendship and help. Many of the Praetorian Guard have watched over Nero since he was a small child, and it is in Traian that the young Emperor places his trust, despite the inherent threat of reducing his mother’s influence. Traian is the father he never had and the one man who does not judge him.When Traian secretly marries the hostage Vena, it sets in motion a collision of values as Traian comes to odds with his former charge. The whirlwind that follows will shake the very foundations of the greatest Empire the world has ever known, and survival is far from guaranteed.
224 pages, Kindle Edition
Published February 14, 2021
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January 27, 2022
The Emperor Nero, the fifth and last of the line of the Julio-Claudian dynasty of Roman Emperors, was born 'Lucius Domitius Ahenobarbus Nero and on becoming Emperor in the year 54 at the age of 16 took the name of ''Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus''. His death in A.D. 68 at the age of 30 led immediately to chaos, anarchy and civil war, ''the year of the four Emperors''. The author has entitled her sweeping book ''Forgiving Nero''. Forgiving would possibly be easier than the act of understanding him, for the focus of the book is the infamous man known to history as simply 'Nero'.
Mary Ann Bernal, with exquisite research, paints the reader a truly wide canvas as a backdrop, of Imperial Rome and beyond, whilst at the same time focussing on Nero, his extremely problematic immediate family, and the three individuals who truly love him and whose suffering is caused by him. The reader is well advised to pay the strictest attention, for the story as revealed and unfurled by Mary Ann Bernal is truly complicated, full of plot twists, suspicious deaths and murders. The stunning category of evil doing is truly hard to comprehend!
The book opens at the Palace of the Emperor Claudius, the replacement to the truly psychopathic Caligula. Claudius is amused and rather charmed by the terrified four year old boy, his nephew, standing before him, stiff as a guardsman. The little boy is Lucius, son of the formidable Agrippina, of whom more anon. As Guardian and the staunch physical and moral guide of the boy is the military man Traian Aelius Protacius. He and the young woman Vena, a young Gallic hostage and secret Christian appointed as nurse and servant, form two of the devoted triumvirate who will love, care and seek to protect Lucius for most of his young life. The name and reputation of Agrippina, sister of Caligula, is also commonly known to history as a by-word for lust, avarice and treachery, and she makes her mark very early on in the narrative as a thoroughly unpleasant, not to mention wicked and manipulative woman. She remains a very bad influence on the sensitive arts and music obsessed little boy. The third member of this doting and devoted trio is the little girl Acte, a freed slave of the household who attends his precocious recitals and soon becomes a devoted companion. It is these three who seek to act as a counter balance to the wickedness and evil of the The Court of Claudius, personified by Agrippina and the equally unpleasant Messalina, the third wife of Claudius.
The narrative is an absolute whirlwind of plot and counterplot, of violent and sudden death, and by the time the reader arrives at Chapter Twelve the board has almost been swept clear of its principal players. The Emperor and his son Britannicus are both dead - in highly suspicious circumstance to say the least! Claudius' third wife wife, Messalina, and Nero's Aunt Lepida have both been executed. Nero is now Emperor and convinced that he is in fact Divine and is reluctantly married to Octavia, daughter of Claudius. Agrippina, the principle evil architect of all the unpleasantness, has been supplanted and isolated from the son she has brought to power by Nero's new lover, the voluptuous Poppaea; and is also murdered after a highly elaborate plot. Nero, with Poppaea, now rules supreme.
In all this time, the faithful Traian, his secret wife, Vena, and Acte, the childhood sweetheart of Lucius, weave in and out of the action, all of them unable to take a direct hand in events and actually under threat as the boy Lucius inexorably mutates into Nero the man. The lives of Vena and Acte, separately kept away from Agrippina who hates them, first by Claudius and then by Traian, become interlinked with the infant and secret Christian Church. Traian is also kept distant by a transfer to the new Province of Britannia and can only occasionally offer sensible advice to the boy now lost to him. Acte, to her great sorrow, has already noted the change. Gone are their childhood dreams of an idyllic life together in Greece in an Empire of universal peace and harmony: ''Once she knew how to pray to the one and only true God she could pray for Lucius to be be the man he always craved to be, and not the man his mother created.''
Traian, for his part, is equally sorrowed. To his dismay he learns of Nero's belief that he is in fact Divine. The boy Lucius is lost. ''Nero was learning how powerful he was. He expected his orders to be followed without hesitation. And he eliminated anyone who stood in his way.'' In a rare meeting with Nero shortly after his mother's death, Traian asks what he has done, calling him Lucius: The Emperor replies: ''I told you not to call me by that name. Lucius no longer exists. I am Nero. And I am your Emperor.'' The transformation is complete! ''Did Lucius carry the spores of Caligula's madness within him? Would the budding shoots developing within Nero eventually take over his mind? Could it be stopped?'' The answer is no. Nero spirals into self obsession, convinced of his own divinity and his largely misplaced belief in his genius in music and the Arts. Rivals and enemies, both real and imagined, are summarily removed and done to death, and Nero's profligate spending becomes utterly out of control.
Traian is sent once more to Britannia and the political situation further worsens. Poppaea contrives the terrible death of the hapless Octavia, whose head is carried to her and Nero plans an expensive Festival for the people, who clearly still adore him. His public acts have won him great support. The pregnant Poppaea is now Nero's wife and ''deep within the Royal Residence, while Rome slept, perversion ruled”.
At this point in the narrative the author finally arrives at the Great Fire of Rome for which, despite all his efforts to assist and alleviate the huge damage, Nero is blamed. Luckily for him, Poppaea is on hand with the helpful suggestion that the Christians should be blamed. This done, there occurs a savage persecution in which hundreds of Christians, including Paul of Tarsus, are murdered - torn to pieces by wild animals in the Arena, crucified or used as living torches. In the confusion Vena flees Rome and loses her memory after a savage attack by brigands. She is rescued by vineyard workers on an estate that is, in fact, gifted to Acte who had been placed there to escape the wrath of Agrippina. There Vena, renamed Julia, remains for a very long time while Traian tirelessly searches for his missing wife.
Nero, meanwhile, has descended into madness. He is spending ruinous amounts of money on himself and upon building a new Rome, devastated after the fire; especially upon a vast new Palace and a giant statue of himself. He is also haunted by ghosts, in particular those of Agrippina and Octavia. Although the people and the elite Praetorian are largely supportive, serious plots against him are emerging. Nero is suspicious of everyone, even his wife Poppaea who is pregnant for a second time. The tension rises even more when it is learned that Poppaea has died in childbirth. Rumours abound that her death was caused by being kicked in the stomach by Nero. Nero further outrages public opinion when it is learned that he has married a male slave he sees at Poppaea's funeral who bears more than a passing resemblance to his dead wife!
In almost his last outrageous act, Nero decides upon a lengthy tour of his beloved Greece, there, to general outrage, to participate in the Greek Olympic Games. He is accompanied by a deeply concerned Traian who nurses him back to health after a near fatal crash in a chariot race. Nero is at last urgently summoned to return to Rome by the Senate where there is yet another growing crisis. Nero worsens the situation by committing an act of impiety upon entering the capital. Yet again, Traian ponders: ''What happened to the idealistic boy who wanted to end corruption and work to better everyday life for ordinary people? He was one person in a cesspool of depravity, unable to swim through the mire without becoming debased.'' Clearly the end is near.
In these difficult times Traian, Acte and Vena are finally reunited and face an uncertain future but are united in their Christian faith, but the object of all their love and affection through the difficult and dangerous years is gone forever. Tormented by the ghosts of people he has destroyed, Nero wanders the vast Palace alone and deserted by all. The grain supply has failed and the people, previously his champions, are starving and turn against him. Equally seriously, he can no longer rely upon the support of the Praetorian Guard! With only a few loyal companions, Nero seeks to escape the vengeance of the Senate, the Army, the people and all his ghosts. Trapped in a suburban villa on the night of 9th June AD 68 at the age of 30, he takes his own life. His last words were, reportedly, ''Qualis artifex pereo'' - ''What an artist dies in me''.
And so, the long and protracted tragedy and morality tale is at an end and the diligent and attentive reader is to be congratulated for having followed all the twists and turns and gaining a clearer understanding of this difficult and tragic period of Roman history. The short life of the Emperor Nero is a fine illustration of Lord Acton's famous dictum:
''Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.''
Mary Ann Bernal is to be congratulated in presenting this impressive and daunting work to the reader! She has seized a truly chaotic and complex period of history, so crucial for all that was to come in the fortunes of Imperial Rome and, indeed. for subsequent history, by the scruff of the neck. Out of all the confusion, she has licked a wonderful narrative into shape! Given the truly chaotic segment of important history she has selected for her novel, this is no small achievement!
In a moving and multi stranded drama that incorporates so much, Mary Ann Bernal presents the reader, for example, with a truly 'ear at the door' view of the secretive early Christian Church and of all its travails. She reveals a clear view and understanding of the Rome of the time in minute and moving detail, and the everyday preoccupations and aspirations and fears of ordinary people, revealing painstaking research The author relates with clarity, and movingly, the various issues and complications of people in love in truly difficult circumstances; their very moods and preoccupations.
Perhaps the greatest triumph of ''Forgiving Nero'' is the task, that many other historians have found so daunting, of weaving this truly confused and convoluted passage of history into a single and meaningful sequence of events whilst at the same time putting all too real flesh onto these historical, and often diabolical, figures. Above all, we have the figure of Nero! In the hands of the writer we are presented with a figure, so beguiling and charming in childhood and in early youth, transformed into a creature of monstrous depravity capable of truly despicable acts; a being seized by perhaps a hereditary madness and doomed to a bitter end.
*****
“Forgiving Nero” by Mary Ann Bernal receives 5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award
Mary Ann Bernal, with exquisite research, paints the reader a truly wide canvas as a backdrop, of Imperial Rome and beyond, whilst at the same time focussing on Nero, his extremely problematic immediate family, and the three individuals who truly love him and whose suffering is caused by him. The reader is well advised to pay the strictest attention, for the story as revealed and unfurled by Mary Ann Bernal is truly complicated, full of plot twists, suspicious deaths and murders. The stunning category of evil doing is truly hard to comprehend!
The book opens at the Palace of the Emperor Claudius, the replacement to the truly psychopathic Caligula. Claudius is amused and rather charmed by the terrified four year old boy, his nephew, standing before him, stiff as a guardsman. The little boy is Lucius, son of the formidable Agrippina, of whom more anon. As Guardian and the staunch physical and moral guide of the boy is the military man Traian Aelius Protacius. He and the young woman Vena, a young Gallic hostage and secret Christian appointed as nurse and servant, form two of the devoted triumvirate who will love, care and seek to protect Lucius for most of his young life. The name and reputation of Agrippina, sister of Caligula, is also commonly known to history as a by-word for lust, avarice and treachery, and she makes her mark very early on in the narrative as a thoroughly unpleasant, not to mention wicked and manipulative woman. She remains a very bad influence on the sensitive arts and music obsessed little boy. The third member of this doting and devoted trio is the little girl Acte, a freed slave of the household who attends his precocious recitals and soon becomes a devoted companion. It is these three who seek to act as a counter balance to the wickedness and evil of the The Court of Claudius, personified by Agrippina and the equally unpleasant Messalina, the third wife of Claudius.
The narrative is an absolute whirlwind of plot and counterplot, of violent and sudden death, and by the time the reader arrives at Chapter Twelve the board has almost been swept clear of its principal players. The Emperor and his son Britannicus are both dead - in highly suspicious circumstance to say the least! Claudius' third wife wife, Messalina, and Nero's Aunt Lepida have both been executed. Nero is now Emperor and convinced that he is in fact Divine and is reluctantly married to Octavia, daughter of Claudius. Agrippina, the principle evil architect of all the unpleasantness, has been supplanted and isolated from the son she has brought to power by Nero's new lover, the voluptuous Poppaea; and is also murdered after a highly elaborate plot. Nero, with Poppaea, now rules supreme.
In all this time, the faithful Traian, his secret wife, Vena, and Acte, the childhood sweetheart of Lucius, weave in and out of the action, all of them unable to take a direct hand in events and actually under threat as the boy Lucius inexorably mutates into Nero the man. The lives of Vena and Acte, separately kept away from Agrippina who hates them, first by Claudius and then by Traian, become interlinked with the infant and secret Christian Church. Traian is also kept distant by a transfer to the new Province of Britannia and can only occasionally offer sensible advice to the boy now lost to him. Acte, to her great sorrow, has already noted the change. Gone are their childhood dreams of an idyllic life together in Greece in an Empire of universal peace and harmony: ''Once she knew how to pray to the one and only true God she could pray for Lucius to be be the man he always craved to be, and not the man his mother created.''
Traian, for his part, is equally sorrowed. To his dismay he learns of Nero's belief that he is in fact Divine. The boy Lucius is lost. ''Nero was learning how powerful he was. He expected his orders to be followed without hesitation. And he eliminated anyone who stood in his way.'' In a rare meeting with Nero shortly after his mother's death, Traian asks what he has done, calling him Lucius: The Emperor replies: ''I told you not to call me by that name. Lucius no longer exists. I am Nero. And I am your Emperor.'' The transformation is complete! ''Did Lucius carry the spores of Caligula's madness within him? Would the budding shoots developing within Nero eventually take over his mind? Could it be stopped?'' The answer is no. Nero spirals into self obsession, convinced of his own divinity and his largely misplaced belief in his genius in music and the Arts. Rivals and enemies, both real and imagined, are summarily removed and done to death, and Nero's profligate spending becomes utterly out of control.
Traian is sent once more to Britannia and the political situation further worsens. Poppaea contrives the terrible death of the hapless Octavia, whose head is carried to her and Nero plans an expensive Festival for the people, who clearly still adore him. His public acts have won him great support. The pregnant Poppaea is now Nero's wife and ''deep within the Royal Residence, while Rome slept, perversion ruled”.
At this point in the narrative the author finally arrives at the Great Fire of Rome for which, despite all his efforts to assist and alleviate the huge damage, Nero is blamed. Luckily for him, Poppaea is on hand with the helpful suggestion that the Christians should be blamed. This done, there occurs a savage persecution in which hundreds of Christians, including Paul of Tarsus, are murdered - torn to pieces by wild animals in the Arena, crucified or used as living torches. In the confusion Vena flees Rome and loses her memory after a savage attack by brigands. She is rescued by vineyard workers on an estate that is, in fact, gifted to Acte who had been placed there to escape the wrath of Agrippina. There Vena, renamed Julia, remains for a very long time while Traian tirelessly searches for his missing wife.
Nero, meanwhile, has descended into madness. He is spending ruinous amounts of money on himself and upon building a new Rome, devastated after the fire; especially upon a vast new Palace and a giant statue of himself. He is also haunted by ghosts, in particular those of Agrippina and Octavia. Although the people and the elite Praetorian are largely supportive, serious plots against him are emerging. Nero is suspicious of everyone, even his wife Poppaea who is pregnant for a second time. The tension rises even more when it is learned that Poppaea has died in childbirth. Rumours abound that her death was caused by being kicked in the stomach by Nero. Nero further outrages public opinion when it is learned that he has married a male slave he sees at Poppaea's funeral who bears more than a passing resemblance to his dead wife!
In almost his last outrageous act, Nero decides upon a lengthy tour of his beloved Greece, there, to general outrage, to participate in the Greek Olympic Games. He is accompanied by a deeply concerned Traian who nurses him back to health after a near fatal crash in a chariot race. Nero is at last urgently summoned to return to Rome by the Senate where there is yet another growing crisis. Nero worsens the situation by committing an act of impiety upon entering the capital. Yet again, Traian ponders: ''What happened to the idealistic boy who wanted to end corruption and work to better everyday life for ordinary people? He was one person in a cesspool of depravity, unable to swim through the mire without becoming debased.'' Clearly the end is near.
In these difficult times Traian, Acte and Vena are finally reunited and face an uncertain future but are united in their Christian faith, but the object of all their love and affection through the difficult and dangerous years is gone forever. Tormented by the ghosts of people he has destroyed, Nero wanders the vast Palace alone and deserted by all. The grain supply has failed and the people, previously his champions, are starving and turn against him. Equally seriously, he can no longer rely upon the support of the Praetorian Guard! With only a few loyal companions, Nero seeks to escape the vengeance of the Senate, the Army, the people and all his ghosts. Trapped in a suburban villa on the night of 9th June AD 68 at the age of 30, he takes his own life. His last words were, reportedly, ''Qualis artifex pereo'' - ''What an artist dies in me''.
And so, the long and protracted tragedy and morality tale is at an end and the diligent and attentive reader is to be congratulated for having followed all the twists and turns and gaining a clearer understanding of this difficult and tragic period of Roman history. The short life of the Emperor Nero is a fine illustration of Lord Acton's famous dictum:
''Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.''
Mary Ann Bernal is to be congratulated in presenting this impressive and daunting work to the reader! She has seized a truly chaotic and complex period of history, so crucial for all that was to come in the fortunes of Imperial Rome and, indeed. for subsequent history, by the scruff of the neck. Out of all the confusion, she has licked a wonderful narrative into shape! Given the truly chaotic segment of important history she has selected for her novel, this is no small achievement!
In a moving and multi stranded drama that incorporates so much, Mary Ann Bernal presents the reader, for example, with a truly 'ear at the door' view of the secretive early Christian Church and of all its travails. She reveals a clear view and understanding of the Rome of the time in minute and moving detail, and the everyday preoccupations and aspirations and fears of ordinary people, revealing painstaking research The author relates with clarity, and movingly, the various issues and complications of people in love in truly difficult circumstances; their very moods and preoccupations.
Perhaps the greatest triumph of ''Forgiving Nero'' is the task, that many other historians have found so daunting, of weaving this truly confused and convoluted passage of history into a single and meaningful sequence of events whilst at the same time putting all too real flesh onto these historical, and often diabolical, figures. Above all, we have the figure of Nero! In the hands of the writer we are presented with a figure, so beguiling and charming in childhood and in early youth, transformed into a creature of monstrous depravity capable of truly despicable acts; a being seized by perhaps a hereditary madness and doomed to a bitter end.
*****
“Forgiving Nero” by Mary Ann Bernal receives 5 stars from The Historical Fiction Company and the “Highly Recommended” award
October 14, 2021
“Forgiving Nero” by Mary Ann Bernal is a fictional account of the life of Nero, Emperor of Rome. As a Praetorian Guard, Traian has looked after Nero ever since he was a small child, protecting him from assassins and treating him like a son. Vena, a hostage to the current Emperor Claudius, and a Christian hiding her faith, is the woman Nero calls “mother.” When Nero finds himself on the Roman throne, he rejects the council of those he once held dear and discovers his newfound power has given him the status of a god. With only treachery and corruption surrounding him, Nero’s former friends and allies can only watch his spiraling descent into debauchery and evil.
When reading historical fiction, I like to learn a lot about the time period and feel immersed in the era. Happily, this book achieves both of those goals. The author brings to life a vast array of characters and events that happened in the life of Nero. Since Nero was the template for the coming antichrist, I found it very interesting to learn more about the person Nero was both during and prior to his role in sentencing Christians to horrific deaths, including that of Paul the apostle.
The writing flows effortlessly between the viewpoints of each of the characters, telling a clear narrative that is easy to follow and rather difficult to put down. At almost 300 pages, it usually takes me over a week to read a book of that length, but I finished this book in about 3 1/2 days. This is a testament to the author’s narrative style and ability to hold my interest. I also found it very interesting to discover how Vena was able to conceal her faith while worshiping Jesus Christ in secret amongst Paul the apostle and her Christian brethren. Nero’s persecution of the Christians was of particular interest to me, and a prevalent subplot of the story as Vena, Acte (Nero’s childhood friend and slave), and Traian grapple with this new religious faith.
I also really enjoyed how the author portrayed Emperor Claudius and the manipulative women in his life. Agrippina was particularly intriguing as to the lengths she would go to get her son Nero on the throne. Claudius’s daughter, Octavia, was a tragic pawn, and Poppaea emerges to challenge Agrippina for control of Emperor Nero. Playing out much like the Greek tragedies Nero enjoyed acting in, his life and the lives of those surrounding him were full of death, mistrust, agony, cruelty, and murder.
If you love Roman history, this book should delight you. Although Nero’s and his family’s wickedness is not sugarcoated, it is not described in a way that is lewd or gratifying. I still recommend this book to adults only, but there was nothing I found too difficult to read, overly explicit, or offensive. The author does an excellent job remaining neutral and presenting each viewpoint factually and without bias. Therefore, regardless of your personal beliefs, you should be able to enjoy this book and make your own conclusions without feeling led to view Nero one way or the other.
When reading historical fiction, I like to learn a lot about the time period and feel immersed in the era. Happily, this book achieves both of those goals. The author brings to life a vast array of characters and events that happened in the life of Nero. Since Nero was the template for the coming antichrist, I found it very interesting to learn more about the person Nero was both during and prior to his role in sentencing Christians to horrific deaths, including that of Paul the apostle.
The writing flows effortlessly between the viewpoints of each of the characters, telling a clear narrative that is easy to follow and rather difficult to put down. At almost 300 pages, it usually takes me over a week to read a book of that length, but I finished this book in about 3 1/2 days. This is a testament to the author’s narrative style and ability to hold my interest. I also found it very interesting to discover how Vena was able to conceal her faith while worshiping Jesus Christ in secret amongst Paul the apostle and her Christian brethren. Nero’s persecution of the Christians was of particular interest to me, and a prevalent subplot of the story as Vena, Acte (Nero’s childhood friend and slave), and Traian grapple with this new religious faith.
I also really enjoyed how the author portrayed Emperor Claudius and the manipulative women in his life. Agrippina was particularly intriguing as to the lengths she would go to get her son Nero on the throne. Claudius’s daughter, Octavia, was a tragic pawn, and Poppaea emerges to challenge Agrippina for control of Emperor Nero. Playing out much like the Greek tragedies Nero enjoyed acting in, his life and the lives of those surrounding him were full of death, mistrust, agony, cruelty, and murder.
If you love Roman history, this book should delight you. Although Nero’s and his family’s wickedness is not sugarcoated, it is not described in a way that is lewd or gratifying. I still recommend this book to adults only, but there was nothing I found too difficult to read, overly explicit, or offensive. The author does an excellent job remaining neutral and presenting each viewpoint factually and without bias. Therefore, regardless of your personal beliefs, you should be able to enjoy this book and make your own conclusions without feeling led to view Nero one way or the other.
February 16, 2021
“How can I save a man who does not want to be saved?”
Forgiving Nero: A Story of Ancient Rome by Mary Ann Bernal is an exquisite tale of tyranny, intrigue, obsession and eternal love. The mysteries unfolded naturally and the characters lived out their fates.
The author writes a gripping story that led me as the reader every which way. So unpredictable that I read with such curiosity and enthusiasm. I finished this book over the weekend, relieved to escape what is happening now, in our time period. Though darkness flows throughout, there is humanity and religious faith. And love that makes everything possible.
Though times have changed, some things are sadly the same. The need for power still exists and so does ignorance. People follow leaders that are not always good and kind but corrupt and deceitful.
Quote:
“The rhythmic noise of the turning wheels had Nero closing his eyes momentarily. His thoughts wandered, pleasant at the onset, recalling time spent with Acte at Misenum. He loved her with childish innocence, developing a friendship based on trust. Lucius reflected on that precious time, pushing aside Nero’s persona. He envisioned the balmy days when they walked along the coastline, exploring sea caves, climbing the rock-strewn hills, running through green meadows filled with wildflowers being blown by the wind. As if in a trance, Lucius held out his hand, his fingers closing over hers. He felt her presence, breathing in her scent, her hair brushing against his face. Lucius heard her silent words, delighting in his poetry, verses written primarily for her and none other, pledging to take her for his wife. A solitary tear escaped, staining the side of his face, wiping the liquid away with his cloak."
Forgiving Nero: A Story of Ancient Rome by Mary Ann Bernal is an exquisite tale of tyranny, intrigue, obsession and eternal love. The mysteries unfolded naturally and the characters lived out their fates.
The author writes a gripping story that led me as the reader every which way. So unpredictable that I read with such curiosity and enthusiasm. I finished this book over the weekend, relieved to escape what is happening now, in our time period. Though darkness flows throughout, there is humanity and religious faith. And love that makes everything possible.
Though times have changed, some things are sadly the same. The need for power still exists and so does ignorance. People follow leaders that are not always good and kind but corrupt and deceitful.
Quote:
“The rhythmic noise of the turning wheels had Nero closing his eyes momentarily. His thoughts wandered, pleasant at the onset, recalling time spent with Acte at Misenum. He loved her with childish innocence, developing a friendship based on trust. Lucius reflected on that precious time, pushing aside Nero’s persona. He envisioned the balmy days when they walked along the coastline, exploring sea caves, climbing the rock-strewn hills, running through green meadows filled with wildflowers being blown by the wind. As if in a trance, Lucius held out his hand, his fingers closing over hers. He felt her presence, breathing in her scent, her hair brushing against his face. Lucius heard her silent words, delighting in his poetry, verses written primarily for her and none other, pledging to take her for his wife. A solitary tear escaped, staining the side of his face, wiping the liquid away with his cloak."
February 23, 2021
I am Nero. And I am your Emperor.
Ruthless, ambitious, and determined to secure her position, Agrippina saw an opportunity and took it. Her son, Lucius, would become Emperor, and she cared not who she had to step over or kill to achieve that aim. Once her son had been named Emperor, Agrippina was determined to use his youth to her advantage, and rule through him. But she failed to see the danger of what she had created.
Traian Aelius Protacius had been assigned to protect Lucius when he had been a young, frightened boy in exile in Calabria. Lucius had been a compassionate child, a little boy desperate for love. But now, as a man, he was unrecognisable. His reign had started with such promise, but there was nothing of the boy in the Emperor who stood before him now. Traian would remain loyal to Nero—as he now liked to be called. He would be the one constant. He could not abandon him, no matter what he did, and yet nor could he save him. Instead, all he could do was watch while Nero rapidly turned away from his trusted advisors and instead listened to those who fed his ego, who bowed to his every whim, and who treated him like a god.
Deep down Nero knew that his hold on the throne would always be precarious. For in truth, the throne, like the laurel upon his head, was never meant to be his...
From a fearful young boy’s first night in the Imperial Palace to his descent into madness, Forgiving Nero by Mary Ann Bernal is the unforgettable story of one of the Roman Empire’s most notorious Emperors.
Nero is one of the infamous emperors whose history has been dictated by those who wanted to see his downfall. History, after all, is not written by the loser. Bernal does not pretend that Nero was a beloved emperor, but nor does she make him quite as monstrous as we have all been led to believe. He is a competent administrator; he takes advice from learned men such as Seneca, and although he is also greatly influenced by his mother in this story, Nero is compassionate when compassion allows. History has often accused Nero of causing the Great Fire of Rome so that he could build his ‘golden house’, but Bernal argues quite rightly that this was not the case at all, and in fact, he helped those who had lost their homes—it just so happened that the fire meant he could build his palace, which in turn meant he needed money and was not afraid to demand it! Bernal has also given us a Nero who is not opposed to murder, nor is he opposed to persecution. Someone had to take the blame for the Great Fire, and the Christians just so happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
I thought Bernal’s depiction of Nero’s mental health, especially his guilt at some of the things he had done, demonstrated her understanding of human fragility and how easy it is to travel down a path of self-destruction. His childlike behaviour in Greece, his instance on winning the laurels at the Olympic Games, caused his sanity and, therefore, his rule to be questioned. He acted like a spoilt child, and he was, consequently, seen as such. But underneath it all, Bernal hints there is still a frightened little boy who just wants to be held by his mother and told that everything would be alright. Bernal has taken the historical sources and picked through the myths and the lies, and has given her readers a more rounded view of Nero and his time as emperor.
The antagonist in this novel is surprisingly not Nero but his mother. Agrippina was a survivor. She had been abused but had somehow managed to turn the tables and come out on top. She used her beauty, intelligence and her ruthless ambition to achieve her aim. I thought Agrippina’s depiction was fabulously portrayed. She is this powerful woman, who not only influenced her son but allowed him to be convinced that he was divine. Unfortunately, Agrippina made the terrible mistake of thinking she could control this monstrous man she had shaped and created. Agrippina was a character that initially I felt sorry for because of the abuse she had endured, and perhaps, to some extent, that abuse explained some of her behaviour - she wants to be in a position of power so that such a thing can never happen again. However, her lack of empathy, the lies, the manipulation of information, and how she makes her son dependent on her made for some disturbing reading. The abused becomes the abuser, and Bernal asks her readers if Nero ever stood a chance to become the man he wanted to become. And in fact, there are several moments in this novel where Nero realises that the boy he was, Lucius, has been devoured by this monstrous Nero that his mother had fashioned in her image.
Honour and loyalty is a theme that runs throughout this novel. Nero’s benevolent nature and youthful desire to change the world came through on the odd occasion, such as when he helps those in need after the Great Fire. On such occasions, he behaves honourably. But there are moments when his extravagance and debauchery and his belief that he rules by Divine right means he loses track of what is honourable and what is not. He becomes confused, baffled even, as to what he is meant to be doing. He believes that he rules supreme and everyone should bow down to him. He demands loyalty, which history teaches us and Bernal shows us, never ends well.
Unlike Nero, who struggles throughout this book with what is right and what is wrong, Traian does his very best to be an honourable person, and although at times he is disloyal, not to Nero, never to him, but to another that he loves, he takes that act of disloyalty and does his best to learn from it, which I think demonstrated how vastly different Traian was to Nero. Acte, much like Traian, remains loyal to the memory of Lucius the boy and that memory she would never betray. Nero is surrounded by good people in this novel, but he is influenced by the wicked because those who wish him well, who want to help guide him to follow the right path, fear that if they upset him or his mother, they could forfeit their lives.
Religion and religious persecution are also explored in this story. Initially, the Christians are tolerated, to an extent. Through characters such as Vena, Bernal examines the dangers of practising a faith that differed so very much from Roman theology. Paul of Tarsus makes several cameo appearances in this novel, and his beliefs put him at odds with the Empire. The slaughter of the Christians after the Great Fire was incredibly harrowing, but masterfully drawn.
This story demanded all of my attention from beginning to end. The narrative was utterly enthralling, and Bernal told Nero’s story with a keen understanding of what makes history worth reading. Bernal has brought Nero back to life, and she has explored that life with a profound sweep and brilliance.
Bernal writes with such elegance and authority, not to mention with a keen attention to the historical detail, that a reader can comfortably immerse themselves in this story. Forgiving Nero by Mary Ann Bernal is a must-read for anyone who enjoys quality Historical Fiction.
I Highly Recommend.
Review by Mary Anne Yarde.
The Coffee Pot Book Club.
November 27, 2025
The story of two star-crossed romances, with some liberties taken with history
(The fictional) Traian Aelius Protacius, guards the boy Lucius (Nero), sent to live with his aunt Lepida during the rule of Caligula while his mother Agrippina is in exile. Attending the boy is slave woman Vena, a secret Christian, to whom Traian is attracted.
Nero asks for a tutor to teach him the lyre (cithara). He performs for the children of slaves and freedmen. He longs for a world where he can play his music and marry Acte, but Agrippina sweet talks Claudius into betrothing him to his daughter Octavia, Nero’s adoptive sister.
Seneca tutors him in other studies. Paul of Tarsus visits Vena’s Christians.
This is the story of two star-crossed romances. Nero can’t marry Acte because his family demands his dynastic marriage to Octavia. Traian marries Vena, but it must be in secret due to her class as slave.
It twists history as we know it on quite a number of points: treats Octavia as in love with Nero (they hated each other); Nero’s music as proficient (his talent was described as mediocre); Nero trusts in his mother’s goodness (he banished her to rid himself of her influence and had her murdered); Camulodunum is a picture of peaceful assimilation (the Boudicca revolt showed, viscerally, how much the British tribes hated the invaders); Claudius is killed by his wife giving him poisoned mushrooms (that was Augustus); Britannicus is killed by poisoned water (it was hot soup that was cooled down by adding poisoned water); Domitius Ahenobarbus is some guy who gives Nero a villa (he was his biological father); Acte wants to be empress (Nero’s interest in her was already replaced by Poppaea by the time he rid himself of Octavia); Acte is interested in Christianity (that was Poppaea, who was interested in Judaism); Domitia Lepida generously offers her villa to Acte (there seems to be no reason for inventing this in either woman’s character arc); Agrippina burst through the curtains of her hidey-hole onto the Senate floor, shouting what was to be done (this was too outrageous even for Agrippina); Poppaea suddenly gets a brainwave that she needs to bear Nero a son (everyone would have known that the emperor needed an heir); Nero rejects proposals by midwives to perform a Caesarean section in order to save Poppaea’s life (Lex Caesarea prohibited performing the operation unless the mother was dead or dying, and the mother was not expected to survive).
I don’t mind non-historical invention in historical fiction, but there should be some point to it, some reason for the storyline to be different from what we are familiar with. This history is juicy enough without outright inventing stuff.
The alternating references to the emperor as Lucius or Nero are confusing. I get it that he changed after becoming emperor, but he should be referred to by one name in each timeframe.
The writing style tends to the Telling rather than Showing, the dialogue quite stilted. For such a familiar story, we really need the writing to offer something special. It gets poorer as the pages progress.
(The fictional) Traian Aelius Protacius, guards the boy Lucius (Nero), sent to live with his aunt Lepida during the rule of Caligula while his mother Agrippina is in exile. Attending the boy is slave woman Vena, a secret Christian, to whom Traian is attracted.
Nero asks for a tutor to teach him the lyre (cithara). He performs for the children of slaves and freedmen. He longs for a world where he can play his music and marry Acte, but Agrippina sweet talks Claudius into betrothing him to his daughter Octavia, Nero’s adoptive sister.
Seneca tutors him in other studies. Paul of Tarsus visits Vena’s Christians.
This is the story of two star-crossed romances. Nero can’t marry Acte because his family demands his dynastic marriage to Octavia. Traian marries Vena, but it must be in secret due to her class as slave.
It twists history as we know it on quite a number of points: treats Octavia as in love with Nero (they hated each other); Nero’s music as proficient (his talent was described as mediocre); Nero trusts in his mother’s goodness (he banished her to rid himself of her influence and had her murdered); Camulodunum is a picture of peaceful assimilation (the Boudicca revolt showed, viscerally, how much the British tribes hated the invaders); Claudius is killed by his wife giving him poisoned mushrooms (that was Augustus); Britannicus is killed by poisoned water (it was hot soup that was cooled down by adding poisoned water); Domitius Ahenobarbus is some guy who gives Nero a villa (he was his biological father); Acte wants to be empress (Nero’s interest in her was already replaced by Poppaea by the time he rid himself of Octavia); Acte is interested in Christianity (that was Poppaea, who was interested in Judaism); Domitia Lepida generously offers her villa to Acte (there seems to be no reason for inventing this in either woman’s character arc); Agrippina burst through the curtains of her hidey-hole onto the Senate floor, shouting what was to be done (this was too outrageous even for Agrippina); Poppaea suddenly gets a brainwave that she needs to bear Nero a son (everyone would have known that the emperor needed an heir); Nero rejects proposals by midwives to perform a Caesarean section in order to save Poppaea’s life (Lex Caesarea prohibited performing the operation unless the mother was dead or dying, and the mother was not expected to survive).
I don’t mind non-historical invention in historical fiction, but there should be some point to it, some reason for the storyline to be different from what we are familiar with. This history is juicy enough without outright inventing stuff.
The alternating references to the emperor as Lucius or Nero are confusing. I get it that he changed after becoming emperor, but he should be referred to by one name in each timeframe.
The writing style tends to the Telling rather than Showing, the dialogue quite stilted. For such a familiar story, we really need the writing to offer something special. It gets poorer as the pages progress.
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