Empress Of Rome 1: Den Of Wolves

Book excerpt: Sex, murder, corruption and intrigue at the dawning of the Roman Empire. It is 44 BC and the rival powers of Rome are driving the republic to a violent end. A soothsayer foretells that the young Tiberius Nero, if he is wed to his cousin, the darkly beautiful Livia Drusilla, will sire four kings of Rome. Fuelled by ambition, Livia devotes her life to fulfilling the prophecy. No crime is too great when destiny beckons. So begins a murderous saga of sex, corruption and obsession at the dawning of the age of emperors. Narrated by the 100-year-old slave Iphicles, Den of Wolves brings to life the great women of imperial Rome – Livia, Julia, Antonia and Agrippina – women who relied on their ambition, instincts and cunning to prosper. In this first book of the dramatic new series Empress of Rome, Luke Devenish superbly recreates these outstanding women who lived in such monstrous times.