The First Century BC

A plebeian class, grown rich from the commercial exploitation of Rome's rapidly growing empire, now rules the state as a ruthless financial oligarchy.

There is a heaven burden of public and private debt, and farming and agriculture are in decay.

There is corruption in public offices, debauchery among the patricians, and tasteless extravagances by the wealthy.

The old glories of Rome are forgotten, and the day of Caesar has not yet arrived.

The shadows on the Empire are beginning to lengthen, and political rivalries and amorous jealousies are rife.

In the midst of all this stands Catalina; a patriot genuinely moved by the spectacle of the neglected countryside and the wrongs of the common people.

The Cataline Conspiracy is beginning and prominent political figures are readying themselves to fight for possession of Rome…

‘Rome for Sale’ weaves fact and fiction seamlessly throughout the narrative with Lindsay revealing the personal lives of the great families involved and the political and personal factors that brought the conspiracy to its bloody end.

Lindsay uses educated historical knowledge when imagining the lives and motivations of key figures in the conspiracy, whilst also creating vivid, believable characters. The patrician sympathiser Julius Caesar, the selfless fanatic Catalina and lawyer Cicero are created, like the picture of Rome in that day, with a novelist’s imagination controlled by a scholar’s knowledge.

‘Elegant and engaging… a tour de force’ - Richard Foreman, author of the best-selling ‘Swords of Rome’ series.

Jack Lindsay (1900-90) was the son of a well-known Australian artist, Norman Lindsay. He took first class honours in Latin and Greek at Queensland University, and came to England in 1926, where he worked as a translator, editor and novelist. His books include ‘The Normans and Their World’, ‘Leisure and pleasure in Roman Egypt’, ‘Last days with Cleopatra’ and ‘The Ancient World’.

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