A Touch of Murder story
Rome, AD 54. Knowing that he will soon be assassinated, the Roman Emperor Claudius begins a secret history of his family, planning for it to emerge long after he is dead. He begins his tale seventy years earlier, in 24 BC, as the newly-cemented Emperor Augustus begins to favor his son-in-law Marcellus over his old friend and ally Agrippa. After Agrippa is insulted by Marcellus at a banquet honoring the Battle of Actium, he leaves Rome in protest. Augustus' wife Livia wants her son Tiberius to become Augustus' heir, so she secretly poisons Marcellus, who eventually dies. Augustus has Agrippa return to Rome, and to seal their renewed friendship, he gives his daughter Julia, Marcellus' widow, to Agrippa to be his wife, infuriating Livia, who wanted Julia to marry Tiberius to cement his status as Augustus' heir.
22 total · 2 choice · 6 major · 14 minor
| Theme | Level | Motivation |
|---|---|---|
| courtly intrigues | choice | The plot turns on people of influence jockeying for power in the imperial court of Caesar Augustus. Notably, Livia poisoned Augustus' chosen successor, Marcellus, in cold blood to eliminate him and pave the way for her son, Tiberius, to become heir to the imperial throne. Also, Augustus maneuvered against Agrippa whom he suspected of plotting a coup d'etat. |
| life in Ancient Rome | choice | The drama is mainly set in 24 BC within the imperial court of Caesar Augustus in Rome. |
| democracy vs. autocracy | major | The sudden death of Marcellus sparked demands for a return to the Republic. |
| father and son | major | August was grooming his adopted son, Marcellus, to be his heir and successor to the imperial throne. |
| husband and wife | major | Livia worked behind the scenes to leave her husband, Augustus, no choice but to make Tiberius, her son from a previous marriage, his heir apparent. Julia was devastated by her husband Marcellus' untimely death. Tiberius opposed his mother's plan for him to divorce his beloved wife, Vipsania, and marry Julia. |
| mother and son | major | Livia worked tirelessly behind the scenes to ensure that her son, Tiberius, was well-positioned to become the next emperor of Rome. |
| poison murder | major | In the main storyline, Livia secretly poisoned Marcellus and encouraged everyone to think that he'd perished from eating some bad food. |
| rivalry | major | Agrippa and Marcellus were rivals to be Augustus' heir. |
| Ancient Roman mythology | minor | Aristarchus made reference to the Roman god, Mars. |
| blood sports | minor | Marcellus arranged a games where he proposed to feature a battle between 50 Germans and 50 blacks from Morocco. |