Book description
Gaius Julius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, the third Roman Emperor, is
better known by another name: Caligula, a name synonymous with
decadence, cruelty and madness. His reign was marked by excess, huge
building projects, the largest gladiatorial battles Rome was ever to
see - men and animals killed in their hundreds - conspiracies,
assassination attempts and sexual scandal.
Rufus as a young slave grows up far from the corruption of the
imperial court. His master is a trainer of animals for the
gladiatorial arena. Rufus discovers that he has a natural ability with
animals, a talent for controlling and schooling them. It is at the
arenas that Rufus meets his great friend Cupido, one of Rome's
greatest gladiators.
It is his growing reputation as an animal trainer and his friendship
with Cupido that attracts the cruel gaze of the Emperor. Caligula
wants a keeper for the imperial elephant and Rufus is bought from his
master and taken to the imperial palace. Life here is dictated by
Caligula's ever shifting moods. Caligula is as generous as he is
cruel, he is a megalomaniac who declares himself a living god and
simultaneously lives in constant fear of the plots against his life.
But his paranoia is not misplaced, intrigue permeates his court, and
Rufus and Cupido find themselves unwittingly placed at the centre of a
conspiracy to assassinate the Emperor.
Douglas Jackson was born in Jedburgh in the Scottish borders and now
lives in Bridge of Allan. He is an assistant editor at the
Scotsman
.
