Tyrant

<b>BLOOD, BETRAYAL, AND THE BATTLE FOR ROME’S SOUL: THE DARK AND TWISTED JOURNEY OF NERO’S ASCENT TO POWER </b><p><br><b>--</b><br><br><b>A MARRIAGE BLESSED IN BLOOD . . .</b><br><br>On the wedding day of Emperor Claudius to Agrippina, a senator lies dying in his own home. Yesterday, this senator was betrothed to Octavia, Claudius’s daughter. <br><br><b>Now blood gushes from his slit wrists.</b><br><br>Agrippina’s elevation to empress changes so many things. Claudius is convinced to adopt her thirteen-year-old son Nero, naming him his new heir.<br><br>And those angered by his wife’s presumption? They face dashed hopes, endure terrible accusations, or suffer a merciless death.<br><br>Yet Nero – still a boy – is vulnerable. Tutored by Seneca, he vies with his brother and fellow heir Britannicus for their father’s favour. <b>He learns to fight. He learns to love.</b> So what if his mother wants him to marry his sister-cousin Octavia? Rome has been scandalised before.<br><br>But those who have survived Agrippina, and the families of those who didn’t, have long memories and short knives. They seek chances to get close – to taste the blood of this ruthless plotter and her son.<br><br><b>Rome has always been dangerous.</b><br><br><b>To rise there, as Nero is to discover, others must fall – even emperors . . .</b><br><br>–<br><br><b><u>PRAISE FOR CONN IGGULDEN</u></b><br><br>'<b>Breathtakingly good’</b> Bernard Cornwell<br><br>‘<b>Deft and robust storytelling, that whips through the history with plenty of blood, guts and plot-twists</b>’ The Times<br><br>'<b>Pacy and propulsive, cracking with energy, violence and stirring speeches, Iggulden chronicles power struggles, political machinations and the bloodthirsty ravages of up-close combat</b>' Daily Mail<br><br>‘<b>A master of the historical novel</b>’ Washington Post<br><br><b><u>Readers love <i>Nero</i></u></b><br><br>'<b>Iggulden draws you into Rome, its brutality and its glory, and brings it back to life with such seamless ease</b>' ***** Reader Review<br><br>'<b>Absolute quality from first to last page, atmospheric with a real feel for time and place'</b> ***** Reader Review<br><br>'<b>It was fascinating to see the seeds being planted that will lead to the Nero becoming the tyrant we know through the ancient historians, but told in such a contemporary and accessible way</b>' ***** Reader Review<br><br>'<b>An absolutely immersive experience throughout that throws you into the politics of Ancient Rome</b>' ***** Reader Review<br><br>‘<b>Another gripping page turner from the peerless master of historical fiction</b>’ ***** Reader Review<br><br><i>Conn Iggulden, Sunday Times bestseller, June 2024</i><br></p>