03 Jul Two Faces of Janus Just Released #HistoricalFiction #AncientRome #MarkAntony #RRBC
New Release Two Faces of Janus
I’m thrilled to announce that Two Faces of Janus: A Short Story of Ancient Rome was released on June 29, 2021. I wrote this short story as a challenge to enter the 2021 RRBC 90-Day Alpha/Omega (Beginning to End) Short Story Writing Contest, in which I had to draft, edit, format, proof, and publish a short story within 90 days.
Inspiration for Two Faces of Janus
As I began writing the historical fantasy series, Curse of Clansmen and Kings, one of the questions I asked myself in the development of characters is how Lucius Antonius reacted to the charges of treason against his father, Iullus Antonius, and the downfall of his grandfather, Marcus Antonius (Mark Antony). In the series, Lucius controls his son, Marcellus, with an iron fist in his determination to restore the family’s legacy out of the ashes of his maligned forefathers. Two Faces of Janus explores how Lucius as a young man must face the imperial crossfire when his father is accused of treason for having an affair with Julia, daughter of Roman Emperor Augustus Caesar.
Historical Backdrop
The imperial dynasty of Augustus Caesar reached a crisis point in 2 BC as various factions in the family maneuvered to shape the politics after he died. Augustus had only one biological child, Julia, with his second wife, Scribonia. He divorced her to marry Livia, who brought two stepsons (Claudian dynasty) into their marriage but never bore a child with him. Augustus used Julia as a political game piece to assure the Julian dynasty through strategic marriages. The Antonius dynasty was added to the mix through Mark Antony’s marriage with Augustus’s sister, Octavia.
One of the mysteries in Roman history is why Augustus Caesar overreacted when he learned Julia had adulterous affairs with powerful politicians. Her primary lover was Iullus Antonius. Augustus forced Iullus to commit suicide for his treasonous affair while he banished Julia and her other lovers. There was likely a political element of infighting between two factions—one centered on Julia and her sons (Gaius and Lucius) and the other on Livia and her son, Tiberius.
History is silent on how Iullus’s wife, Marcella Major, and their eighteen-year-old son, Lucius, reacted to his suicide and disgrace. Marcella Major, the oldest daughter of Octavia, was first married to Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa—Augustus’s close friend, general, and statesman responsible for constructing some of the most notable buildings in the history of Rome and for critical military victories. After Augustus almost died in 23 BC, he forced Agrippa to divorce Marcella Major to marry Julia. The political marriage between Agrippa and Julia strengthened the constitutional stability by providing for a political heir or replacement if Augustus succumbed to his chronic ill health. Marcella Major was then obligated to marry Iullus Antonius, and together they had one son, Lucius, and a daughter.
Very little is known about Lucius except that he went to Massalia (present-day Marseilles) on the pretext of studying law after his father’s disgrace. Likely, Augustus unofficially demanded that Lucius exile for his father’s crime.
Highlights of Two Faces of Janus
Two Faces of Janus
(A Short Story of Ancient Rome)
by Linnea Tanner
A young nobleman confronts a specter from the past that could threaten his family’s legacy.
A brash young aristocrat, Lucius Antonius anticipates Emperor Augustus Caesar will support his lofty ambitions to serve as a praetor in the Roman justice system in 2 BC Rome. As the son of the distinguished politician and poet, Iullus Antonius, Lucius prays to Janus, the two-faced god of beginnings, to open the door for him to rise politically. But he is unaware of the political firestorm ready to erupt in the imperial family.
Augustus must confront evidence that his daughter, Julia, has behaved scandalously in public and that Iullus is her lover. The prospect that Julia might want to marry Iullus—the only surviving son of Marcus Antonius—threatens to redirect the glory from Augustus to his most hated rival beyond the grave. Caught in the political crossfire, Lucius must demonstrate his loyalty to Augustus by meeting all of his demands or face the destruction of his family’s legacy and possibly his own life.
Will Lucius ultimately choose to betray and abandon his disgraced father?
Buy Links:
Two Faces of Janus is available on Kindle Unlimited. The paperback will be available soon at most retail outlets.
Upcoming Events
To celebrate the release of Two Faces of Janus, a newsletter will be sent to subscribers at the beginning of next week for a chance to win a free book in the Hot Summer Giveaway! An update on the release of Skull’s Vengeance (Curse of Clansmen and Kings Book 4) and upcoming author events will be announced soon!
I greatly appreciate your continued support.
Best regards,
Linnea Tanner
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