Hieronymus Longinus Rufus

Yup. Lots of testosterone on the loose!

Are you English? Blimey! Poppycock and Codswallop! No. I'm a Yank who counts a few Irish as his ancestors. But I'm completely bored by the tale of an invincible man who can hold off an army all by his lonesome self. I haven't read it myself, but I cant see how it can be any more ridiculous than "Beowulf," the English national epic. (I'm an anglophile,btw. )

Are you English?

When you are done with "Imperium", read "Conspirata" also by Harris. ("Lustrum" in the UK.) See my review of it. Then you must return to the "Roma Sub Rosa" series. Saylor's books are a treat to read. My personal favorite of them was "Catalina's Riddle."

Interesting that you should have read that. I have just read another insiders book, "In the Garden of Beasts" by Erik Larson. What follows is my review of it. In the Garden of Beasts: Love, Terror, and an American Family In Hitler's Berlin, Random House,(2011), is a compelling story of sex, politics, spies, duplicity, cynicism, naivet

I think it's that sense of promise unrealized.

I may be wrong (I usually am)but it seems to me that there's some confusion as to the military tribune and the political tribune, e.g., Tribune of the Plebs. Wikipedia isn't the most reliable of sources, but I think they are correct in this instance. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Military_tribune

You might find the "Medicus " series of books by Ruth Downie to be interesting. The main character, for a Roman point of view, is Ruso who is a medical officer attached to a legion in Britania. He develops an unwanted affinity for solving mysteries. Did you know the Romans had an effective treatment for the removal of cataracts?

You will find Gordianus to be a most unconventional detective and a most unconventional Roman.

Don't forget that early in his career, Cicero faced down perhaps the most dangerous dictator of them all, Sulla, and won. Ironically, late in his life, he choked in the face of Clodius' thugs and could not deliver his defense of Milo, who may have been indefensible, anyway.

You'll have to do better than that! Do our American friends blush at the sound of 'Lust' within a word? Do we Brits find 'Conspire' a tad too edgy? By the way. I've had the Audiobook of Lustrum buried under rubbish in my in-tray since it was released. Ebayers won't touch it, so if anyone wants it for the price of postage, they can have it. No. It's just that most Americans would not bother to look up "lustrum" but would immediately recognize that "conspirata" is vaguely similar to "conspiracy." And also there are simply too many of your Oxford and Cambridge types there who haven't migrated across the pond to find real work, thus to increase our collective IQ.

I must see this movie. I've been to Rochester castle twice. It is one of my favorite places in the UK. It is, for me, a magical place. But I always thought The Marshal was one of King John's men and that he stood with the king against the barons at Runnymede.

Does she operate a bulldozer? No. Oh no, indeed.

You find SPQR all over Rome. Mussolini revived the logo in the 30's. I dont thiks that's terribly important, though. After all, Hitler commissioned Ferdinand Porsche to design and produce the Volkswagen.

I've read the entire Roma Sub Rosa series except for the latest which is being serialized in a fiction magazine. You are right, it is an excellent series with an unconventional hero. "Roma" and "Empire" by Saylor should be on the must read list. These novels tell the history of Rome from the perspective of various members of two of the most ancient, somtimes competing, patrician families, from the founding of the city through Hadrian's reign. Excellent reading.