Ides of June, The

4.5 Stars. A great new one by Rosemary Rowe who is a master of tales of Roman Britain and the creator of Libertus.

I really like it and it is my favorite so far of the Libertus books. Why? I so appreciate books about Roman Britian and I learned a great deal reading this about Celtic roundhouses, language customs and everyday life at that time. The different populations that were coexisting at this time period in Rome makes it a compelling read for me.

The very favorite part for me was the journey to hide Julia and the children; the language and cultural differences that separated the two families was a unique look at this period. Next, I think was that this period in time, between Emperors was so fraught with dangers for Romans and Natives alike.

Also I felt that the routines of daily life for Libertus, and his now extended family, were thoroughly enjoyable to read and think about. Equally entertaining were Julia and Marcus and their children's roles that were explored.

The Tanner and his family were another delightful excursion from the ordinary and I am so glad they were able to move up a bit in society and had their son bought back from slavery. Glimpses of the countryside as it may have been at that time were really entrancing to explore.

Recommended for those who love mysteries set in other countries and eras.

Rosemary Rowe’s Libertus novels are firmly and convincingly sited in time and place: the Roman Empire on the cusp of decline (during the reign of Commodus and after), Roman Britain in the environs of Glevum (Gloucester). The focus is always on the lives of the ordinary people of the empire, slaves and freedmen, Celtic Britons and Romanised Britons, and upon their relationships with their superiors, as Libertus with his patron Marcus. Then too, there are the ever present dangers of everyday life in unsettled times: the consequences of a change of emperor, change of governor, change of councillor, even the real and present dangers of what would nowadays be a short journey between Gloucester and Bath (Glevum and Aquae Sulis). Highlighted are the uncertainties of life, loss of a patron’s protection, the ever-present risk of starvation, the need to sell a child into slavery to guarantee the lives of others and of the child itself. These are the aspects which I have always found most convincing and fascinating in these novels. Rosemary Rowe has caught the atmosphere, tone and perhaps the reality of the times better than almost any other author – quite a boast for a writer of crime mysteries.
The use of crime novel set so plausibly in context means that the pace is slow – it must be so – as Marcus’ privileged but good-hearted wife Julia discovers when she travels with Libertus and his family on an ox drawn cart without any of the advantages of her senatorial husband. The mystery in the Ides of June is perhaps not the most ingenious in a series which as a whole has boasted some very satisfying and intricate puzzles in its earlier novels. Marcus, in the aftermath of an imperial assassination, receives a threat against himself and all his family and takes steps for Libertus to protect his wife and children. There is also an old widow who has suffered the loss of her husband and sons in a mysterious fire in their villa. How did this happen and who was responsible? Both strands of the plot meet at the abandoned villa near Aquae Sulis where all eventually becomes clear.
Enjoy this novel as an insight into the past which is unequalled by most other writers of historical fiction.