Imperial Sequence – Allan Massie

At one of our recent chats, someone mentioned the Massie novels, and I realized that there is a new one, at least new to me:  Caligula. The books, in historical sequence, are: Caesar, Anthony, Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Nero's Heirs. All worth reading.

The novels vary in format: biographies, memoirs, letters, or combinations of same. In my review of  Nero's Heirs I wrote that I liked that one best. Caligula is written in a similar style, and wickedly funny in parts. A fictitious former confidante of Caligula, “Lucius,” is commissioned by Agrippina to write a biography of her brother. He creates his own private memoir first, not suitable for the eyes of Agrippina or the world.

The books are mostly not published in the U.S. but are readily available on the used book market. What would we do without those friendly booksellers?