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Title details for The Splendor Before the Dark by Margaret George - Available

The Splendor Before the Dark

A Novel of the Emperor Nero

by Margaret George
Steve West
Audiobook
1 of 1 copy available
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Nero’s ascent to the throne was only the beginning....Now Margaret George, the author of The Confessions of Young Nero, weaves a web of politics and passion, as ancient Rome’s most infamous emperor cements his place in history.
With the beautiful and cunning Poppaea at his side, Nero commands the Roman empire, ushering in an unprecedented era of artistic and cultural splendor. Although he has yet to produce an heir, his power is unquestioned.
But in the tenth year of his reign, a terrifying prophecy comes to pass and a fire engulfs Rome, reducing entire swaths of the city to rubble. Rumors of Nero’s complicity in the blaze start to sow unrest among the populace—and the politicians....
For better or worse, Nero knows that his fate is now tied to Rome’s—and he vows to rebuild it as a city that will stun the world. But there are those who find his rampant quest for glory dangerous. Throughout the empire, false friends and spies conspire against him, not understanding what drives him to undertake the impossible.
Nero will either survive and be the first in his family to escape the web of betrayals that is the Roman court, or be ensnared and remembered as the last radiance of the greatest dynasty the world has ever known.
 “A resplendent novel filled with the gilt and marble of the ancient world.”—C. W. Gortner, author of The Romanov Empress

  • Creators

  • Publisher

  • Release date

    November 6, 2018

  • Formats

    • OverDrive Listen audiobook

      • ISBN: 9780525640967
      • File size: 628144 KB
      • Duration: 21:48:37

  • Languages

    • English

  • Reviews

    • AudioFile Magazine
      Listeners engage George's epic second novel where THE CONFESSIONS OF YOUNG NERO leaves off. Re-creating the life of the Roman emperor who allegedly fiddled while Rome burned, the story begins with that famous fire and follows Nero through his last years. Steve West carries the lion's share of the narrating as Nero recounts events as he lives them. Katharine McEwan and Susan Denaker ably support the narration with smoothly executed performances. As Nero devotes himself to the massive undertaking of rebuilding Rome, West shows him making enemies, overturning insurrections, and swallowing the bitter pill of disloyalty from those he trusts most. West, in tones alternately hopeful and loving, vindictive and self-deluding, does a terrific job imagining the many facets of the frequently misrepresented emperor. S.J.H. © AudioFile 2019, Portland, Maine

Formats

  • OverDrive Listen audiobook

subjects

Languages

  • English

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