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Series
The Mark Antony series presents a biographical saga of the Roman commander from the Catilinarian crisis to his defeat by Octavian. Antony’s youth is shaped by the execution of his stepfather, service under Aulus Gabinius in Judaea and Egypt, and the campaigns in Gaul that bind him to Julius Caesar.
The later novels follow civil war against Pompey, Caesar’s dictatorship and assassination, the Second Triumvirate, Philippi, Antony’s eastern command, Cleopatra and the War of Actium. Public events are combined with personal loyalties to examine how a gifted soldier became one of the central agents and final casualties of the Roman Republic’s destruction.
Reading order
Rome and the eastern Mediterranean, 63–50 BCE. The young Mark Antony sees his stepfather Lentulus Sura executed for involvement in Catiline’s conspiracy, a family loss that fixes his hostility towards Cicero and senatorial justice. Years of debt and disorder are followed by military service under Aulus…
The Roman world, 49–44 BCE. When Julius Caesar crosses the Rubicon, Mark Antony becomes one of his principal political and military supporters. Civil war carries them from Italy to the confrontation with Pompey at Pharsalus and then into the dangerous succession struggle of Ptolemaic Alexandria. Further…
Rome and Macedonia, 44–40 BCE. Caesar’s assassination leaves Mark Antony with the dead dictator’s papers, veterans and political legacy, but also with rivals who claim the right to avenge him. Octavian’s arrival turns cooperation into competition while Brutus and Cassius organise resistance in the east. Antony,…
The eastern Mediterranean, 36–30 BCE. Mark Antony’s invasion of Parthian territory fails after the loss of his siege train and a devastating retreat, weakening his authority and deepening his dependence on Cleopatra’s resources. Octavian uses Antony’s eastern court and marriage politics to portray him as an…