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The Roman
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Wikipedia article
'The Roman' (original title 'Ihmiskunnan viholliset', which translates to 'Mankind's Enemies') is a fiction novel by Mika Waltari published in 1964, and was the last work of Waltari to be published during his lifetime. Set in Rome, the book is a sequel to 'The Secret of the Kingdom', a novel about the early days of Christianity. The protagonist and narrator is Minutus, the son of Marcus, the main character of the previous novel. Minutus is a Roman citizen striving to survive without political entanglements.
In the novel, Minutus travels from Corinth to Britain, to Rome and then to Jerusalem. Through a boyhood friendship with Nero, he becomes a sometimes advisor, sometimes a tool, and sometimes a fool of the capricious emperor. A cruel fate makes him the commander of the menagerie that supplied the wild animals that tore his firstborn son to pieces, and the book was ostensibly written as a guide for his second son, great-grandson of the Emperor Claudius.
Plagiarism of the novel
In July 2008, news emerged that the novel had been plagiarized by television producer Colin Slater ('Rapsittie Street Kids: Believe In Santa') in his novel 'Lindum Colonia', published in 2003.
References
Category:Novels by Mika Waltari
Category:Historical novels
Category:Novels set in ancient Rome
Category:Books about Nero
Category:1964 novels
Category:Hodder & Stoughton books
Category:20th-century Finnish novels
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