Quintus Claudius: A Romance of Imperial Rome. Volume 1

A young Campanian's journey to Rome becomes a thrilling plunge into the heart of imperial power and passion. Quintus Claudius arrives in the Eternal City seeking his fortune, accompanied only by his adopted sister Lucilia, and finds himself immediately entangled in the pleasures and perils of Roman high society. From a dramatic sea rescue off the coast of Baiae to glittering dinner parties where political intrigue simmers beneath witty conversation, Eckstein paints a vivid portrait of an era when empire and ambition collided. The novel captures the intoxication of youth in a world of ancient grandeur, where every encounter might lead to romance, ruin, or revelation. This is adventure fiction in the grand Victorian tradition: sweeping, escapist, and utterly absorbing, tracing one man's path through a civilization at the height of its power.