The Assassins of Rome
First edition, 2002
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| Author | Caroline Lawrence |
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| Cover artist | Peter Sutton Fred van Deelan (mosaic) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Roman Mysteries |
| Genre | Historical novel |
| Publisher | Orion Books |
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Publication date
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17th of October 2002 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Pages | 224 pp (first edition, hardback) |
| ISBN | |
| OCLC | 50055983 |
| Preceded by | The Pirates Of Pompeii |
| Followed by | The Dolphins of Laurentum |
The Assassins of Rome is a children's historical novel by Caroline Lawrence published on 17 October 2002 by Orion Books. It is the fourth book of The Roman Mysteries series.
Introducing the assassins of Rome
The novel is set in Ostia and Rome in September AD 79. Jonathan is the primary character in this novel, as he seeks out the mother he believed long dead and learns the tragic secrets of his family history.
The story begins on Jonathan ben Mordecai 11th birthday. He is gloomy, saying that something bad always happens on his birthday. He opens the presents and is not satisfied with any except a jar of lemon oil.
He breaks the jar of lemon oil, and the scent reminds him of his mother, who died in the Siege of Jerusalem. Officials turns up to warn Jonathan's father that an assassin, ben Jonah, has been asking for him.
Jonathan wonders why his mother did not escape with them, which leads him to hear his father talking with a stranger. The stranger mentions that his mother didn't escape with them 'because of Jonathan'.
The stranger turns out to be ben Jonah. Jonathan head butts him and tells his father to knock him cold before he gets up. Jonathan's Father, Ben Ezra, tells him ben Jonah is the brother of Jonathan's mother, Susannah.
Jonathan thinks about the conversation before, and thinks that ben Ezra must hate him for making Susannah not leave. That night, he dreams that his mother is sat at her loom in the Cyclops cave and tells him that she is still alive.
The next day, he and ben Jonah have disappeared, with a message: Gone to Rome. The official returns and arrests ben Ezra for hiding ben Jonah. His friends Flavia and Nubia set of after Jonathan.
This chapter is mainly about the trip that Flavia and Nubia (her real name is Shepenwepet) took to Rome with their bodyguard, Caudex and cart driver, Feles.
Meanwhile, ben Jonah decides to take Jonathan with him to Rome, where he admits to his nephew that he a messenger to the Emperor Titus Flavius Vespanius.
Flavia's mother Myrtilla has a sister who is the wife of the great senator Aulus Caecilius Cornix, so they go to his house to find it empty except for his secretary Sisyphus.
In the rental room of ben Jonah, he shows Jonathan that he is a very talented musician by playing the bass lyre to him. Meanwhile, Flavia tells Sisyphus why they had come.
ben Ezra's other friends go to ask the official, Bato, why ben Ezra has been arrested. Bato tells them that ben Jonah had been involved in a plot to kill the emperor. If ben Ezra helped him, it was treason.
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