This is an absorbing tale of Britain in the 2nd century when the Romans were well-established rulers. Libertus makes an admirable narrator, giving us an outsider’s view into Roman British society. These books give a fairly accurate picture of what life was like for slaves, and Marcus is an apt portrayal of an imperious and sometimes benevolent patrician, whose viewpoint is the polemic opposite of Libertus’. This is a good place to find out what life in a large Roman villa might have been like, and what tasks the various slaves employed would have done. But it is not just a well-researched background, as here is a compelling story that I didn’t get to the bottom of entirely, some well-placed dry humor and a cast of interesting characters. This is surely a series that will go on and on, remaining fresh and inventive.