Young Master

In 155 BC, Servius Fulvius Flaccus is handed a big farm near Salernum and travels south from Rome to manage it. Servius knows he is inexperienced. Although Servius is 23 years old and a veteran of a campaign against the Gauls, his father has kept him from taking any independent action. He understands that he must learn his job while maintaining a mask of authority and decisiveness. From the first day, he uncovers surprises - most of them bad. Most unexpectedly, a slave insurrection reaches Servius's farm just after his arrival. Fighting the renegades introduces Servius to Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus Aemilianus. Scipio is the headman of a dominant political faction in Rome: famous, competent, and quirky. Servius decides that his connection with Scipio is as lucky as the slave revolt was unlucky. Servius knows about politics. He is already working to further his march through the offices that ratify importance in Rome. Scipio's influence is something he can use. But Scipio is not Servius's only political asset. Servius is also a favorite of Marcus Porcius Cato, the former Censor, and probably the most famous man of his era. Of course, Cato is extremely old and he cannot live forever. But he has agreed to visit Servius's farm and give him some advice - including political advice. When Cato arrives he brings startling news. After almost fifty years or Roman rule, natives of the Iberian Peninsula are mutinous. Cato advises Servius to prepare for a lifetime trying to pacify Hispania. He also enlists Servius in a campaign that will reform the processes that have placed venal governors over the Hispanic provinces. Young Master is a story of incipient transformations: detailing the pace and currents of everyday life during the Roman Republic, dramatizing the normal expectations of men who run things, and tracing the roots of crises that will fracture the consensus which is the bedrock of Rome's safety, stability, and wealth. Readers of novels about Rome's eventual transformation into an autocracy, such as those by Robert Harris, Colleen McCullough, and Steven Saylor, may also enjoy the back story behind the events in those books.