Tanzanite's Castle Full of Books

It's my pleasure to welcome Kate Quinn today who is going to fill us in on the "year of the four emperors".


So Who Are These Four Emperors Anyway?


Long before I started writing Daughters of Rome, I'd been hankering to write a book about the Year of the Four Emperors. For one thing, it's the name – like the War of the Roses or the War of Jenkin's Ear, it's an instantly fascinating combination of words to any bored history student looking desperately for passion and bloodshed between all the dry lists of dates and treaties. And the Year of Four Emperors benefits from an extraordinary cast of characters: not even Hollywood could have cast four more different men to wear the same crown. Let's take a look at the quartet of Emperors who lived, fought, schemed, died, and put their individual stamp on Rome during that tempestuous year of A.D. 69 . . .

Emperor #1: Our first contestant could be played by anybody's sour old uncle – the one who spends Thanksgiving complaining about the cost of everything and interrupting the children to tell them how rude they are. Emperor Galba was old, sour, cranky, and joyless, and he spent his brief reign pinching pennies, making rules, and presiding over the worst dinner parties the Imperial palace had ever seen. Rome under his rule was a gray, suspicious, cheerless sort of place – no wonder Galba was gone a week after New Year in January 69.

Emperor #2: Galba's successor could have stepped right out of an Oscar Wilde comedy, or maybe an episode of “Gossip Girl.” Emperor Otho was young, handsome, witty, and sophisticated; the sort of worldly metrosexual found today in Upper East Side bars sipping martinis, murmuring the latest gossip, and leaving with the phone number of every attractive woman in the room. Overnight he turned Rome into a trendy sparkling hot spot – lavish parties, beautiful people, and fun fun fun.

Emperor #3: The man who toppled Otho off his throne can be found today in any sports bar in America – the cheerful red-faced fat man who plows through pitchers of Bud and sprays nacho crumbs as he yells at the football game on TV. Emperor Vitellius had two great passions: Blues-faction chariot racing (translation: a Yankee fan) and food. Rome under his rule turned into an endless Superbowl party, complete with chips, dip, and “We're Number One!” chants. Unfortunately he got replaced by the man who really was Number One. Or rather, Number Four.

Emperor #4: otherwise known as “the one who lasted,” Emperor Vespasian skated in just under the wire a week before the year ended, and managed to stay Emperor for the next ten years. He was the dad everybody wishes they had: tough, thrifty, hard working, with a solid work ethic and an eternal glint of humor in the eye. Rome, after a year of swapping Emperors faster than Elizabeth Taylor swapped husbands, was delighted to just sit back and let Dad handle everything. Thus ended Year 69.

I gave Daughters of Rome four girls to go with the four Emperors listed above, and each one will find her zenith with one of them. One will become Galba's daughter-in-law and thus a future Empress – but we know that won't work out quite like she planned. Another girl will be Otho's Imperial hostess at the pinnacle of Roman society. A third will become Vitellius's special pet, even if she does root for the chariot-racing equivalent of the Red Sox to his Yankees. And the fourth girl just might become Empress herself. How will it happen?

Come read about the Year of Four Emperors with me, and find out.


So, if you would like to win a copy of Daughters of Rome, please fill out the below form by midnight, April 22, 2011.  Contest is open to residents of the US and Canada only.