Ebook: The Gabinian Affair: de re Gabiniana

"The Gabinian Affair is the first book of the Gaius Marius Chronicle, the memoir of a retired Roman soldier, Gaius Marius Insubrecus, a legionary who fought with Caesar throughout his Gallic campaigns and the Roman civil wars, and who then supported Caesar's son and heir, Octavius, in his struggle against Caesar's murderers and finally against Antonius and Cleopatra. The Gabinian Affair recounts the events leading up to Insubrecus' decision to join the Roman Tenth Legion at the age of sixteen, immediately before Caesar's Helvetian campaign. The narrative recreates a colorful and culturally complex portrait of ancient northern Italy, the Po Valley and the city of Mediolanum, whose Celtic population is struggling with its own identity after more than a hundred years of Roman rule. Through the well-meaning machinations of his mother, Gai is thrust into the maelstrom of Roman politics, corruption and murderous vengeance of the late Republic.