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Augustus

A Novel

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Augustus

By: John Williams
Narrated by: Robin Field
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About this listen

Brought to you by Penguin.

By the author of Stoner, the surprise international bestseller

After the brutal murder of his great-uncle, Julius Caesar, Octavian, a shy and scholarly youth of nineteen, suddenly finds himself heir to the vast power of Rome. He is destined, despite vicious power struggles, bloody wars and family strife, to transform his realm and become the greatest ruler the western world had ever seen: Augustus Caesar, the first Roman Emperor.

Building on impeccable research, John Williams brings the legendary figure of Augustus vividly to life, and invests his characters with such profound humanity that we enter completely into the heat and danger of their lives and times.

©2023 John Williams (P)2023 Penguin Audio

 Ancient Biographical Fiction Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Fiction Biography Rome War

Critic reviews

Weir’s sympathetic and detailed biography reassesses the life of a woman whose role in public life…has been underrated by historians
The finest historical novel ever written by an American
It would be easy to over-praise this novel; but there does not seem any adequate reason why this temptation should be resisted
A novel of extraordinary range, yet of extraordinary minuteness, that manages never to sacrifice one quality for the other
Williams has fashioned an always engaging, psychologically convincing work of fiction - a consistent and well-realized portrait
A highly imaginative account of the life and times of Augustus-a brilliant novel
A brilliant epistolary novel about Octavius Caesar and ancient Rome...all three [of John Williams'] novels show a similar narrative arc: a young man's initiation, vicious male rivalries, subtler tensions between men and women, fathers and daughters, and finally a bleak sense of disappointment, even futility.
Exquisite...brims with great lines
A vividly imagined re-creation of classical Rome, but its intuitive grasp of the experience of immense power makes it an unusual, and superior, novel
There could be no better year than 2014 to rediscover this one (Mary Beard)
All stars
Most relevant
Set almost entirely around letters from the time, some got a droll effect seemingly unnecessary to story. Those that were about Augustus himself were really interesting.

Letters

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A very well narrated version of a brilliant epistolary novel by John Williams, one of my favourite reads of the year so far, highly recommended!

Augustus

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A masterful work of historical fiction. Augustus makes you feel as though you’re truly living in the last days of the Republic and the rise of the Empire. Historically grounded yet rich with imagination, it blends fact and fiction seamlessly. Williams captures the cost of power and the humanity of Rome’s first emperor with elegance and depth. Everyone should read this.

Masterpiece

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Roman history told through fictional “primary” sources. I am now a John Williams fan and will look for his other works.

History comes alive.

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