Respublica recreates the teeming world of pre-Christian Rome with all its drama and sensualism, and it mirrors the strife and crises of contemporary America. Marcus Cicero, a respected but marginalized statesman, describes in his own voice, complemented by omniscient narrative, his life-long struggle against subversion and tyranny. Cicero combats the intrigues of the renegade, Catalina, and then fends off the attacks of the wild demogogue, Clodius. He idolizes the military hero, Pompeius, while distrusting the ambitions of the emergent Caesar. In the midst of civil war, Cicero strives to hold his family together. Devoted to his strong-willed wife, Terentia, he is alternately tempted and repelled by the wanton, Clodia Pulchra. He writes his personal history for the benefit of his son, Marcus, but the very light of his life is his beloved daughter, Tullia. Cicero's brother, Quintus is loyal despite a simmering envy of his older sibling. In his ultimate struggle against the usurpations of Marcus Antonius, Cicero is fated to live or perish with the free Repubic. Respublica is powerful historical fiction written with heart and mind and spirit... and guts.
