Praetorian
PRAETORIAN
SIMON SCARROW
Copyright (c) 2011 Simon Scarrow
The right of Simon Scarrow to be identified as the Author of the Work has been asserted by him in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
Apart from any use permitted under UK copyright law, this publication may only be reproduced, stored, or transmitted, in any form, or by any means, with prior permission in writing of the publishers or, in the case of reprographic production, in accordance with the terms of licences issued by the Copyright Licensing Agency.
First published as an Ebook by Headline Publishing Group in 2011
All characters in this publication are fictitious and any resemblance to real persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.
Cataloguing in Publication Data is available from the British Library
eISBN: 978 0 7553 5721 5
HEADLINE PUBLISHING GROUP
An Hachette UK Company
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London NW1 3BH
Rome In The Age Of Emperor Claudius
Simon Scarrow worked as a lecturer before becoming a full-time writer. PRAETORIAN is his eleventh novel about Macro and Cato, heroes of the Roman army; all the earlier Roman novels, including the No. 1 bestsellers CENTURION and THE GLADIATOR, are available from Headline.
Simon Scarrow is also the author of a quartet of novels about the lives of the Duke of Wellington and Napoleon Bonaparte. YOUNG BLOODS, THE GENERALS, FIRE AND SWORD and THE FIELDS OF DEATH have been published to warm acclaim.
To find out more about Simon Scarrow and his novels, visit
www.scarrow.co.uk
.
The
Roman
Series
Under The Eagle
The Eagle’s Nest
When The Eagle Hunts
The Eagle And The Wolves
The Eagle’s Prey
The Eagle’s Prophecy
The Eagle In The Sand
Centurion
The Gladiator
The Legion
Praetorian
The
Wellington and Napoleon
Quartet
Young Bloods
The Generals
Fire And Sword
The Fields Of Death
For Carolyn
As ever, my first debt of gratitude is to my wife Carolyn who carefully checked through each completed chapter as the novel was written, and who puts up with me when I get totally absorbed in the tale.
In the Praetorian Guard
Tribune Balbus - in charge of the bullion convoy
Centurion Gaius Sinius - an ambitious back-stabber
Tribune Burrus - commander of the Third Cohort of Praetorians
Centurion Lurco - practically part-time commander of the Sixth Century of the Third Cohort
Optio Tigellinus - Lurco’s frustrated subordinate
Guardsman Fuscius - a recent recruit who thinks he’s a veteran
Prefect Geta - commander of the Praetorian Guard
At the Imperial Palace
Emperor Claudius - a fair ruler, though not always a coherent one
Empress Agrippina - his wife and niece, and mother of
Prince Nero - a pleasant boy with artistic ambitions
Prince Britannicus - the son of Claudius, clever but cold
Narcissus - imperial secretary and close adviser to Claudius
Pallas - another close adviser to the Emperor and Empress
Septimus - an agent of Narcissus
In Rome
Cestius - a vicious and ruthless leader of a crime gang
Vitellius - playboy son of a senator, and long-standing enemy of Macro and Cato
Julia Sempronia - the lovely daughter of Senator Sempronius
EMPEROR CLAUDIUS
The Imperial Palace Complex
The Praetorian Camp
The Boarium
The Great Circus