The Roman Empire from Nero to Hadrian, each Emperor wants to leave his mark, he gets deified, becoming yet another god in the pantheon of Roman religion. The emperors also want to leave their marks and become builders.
Thus, architects can express themselves through stone for the glory of Caesar. The Dinners of Calpurnia, a historical novel where a family will mark the intellectual life of Rome. It is fashionable to frequent the Velabrum, somewhat like the Saint-Germain-des-Prés of our time.
Calpurnia is the mistress of the place and organizes dinners where philosophers, artists, and politicians of the time attend, careful not to displease Caesar. Then there are the Christians, persecuted, ignored by the authorities according to Caesar’s whims. Calpurnia is a Christian. This book, a historical novel, covers more than a century of Roman history.
Jean Diwo through the gatherings organized by Calpurnia brings us back to ancient Rome with its vices, debaucheries, grandeur, and dramas including the eruption of Vesuvius. Life, death seem to merge, but let’s not forget the principle of monarchy: “the king is dead, long live the king!” It is the continuity of power that made Rome the mistress of the world.
The Dinners of Calpurnia, each of us, after reading this historical novel, will dream of being invited by Calpurnia. The question: is there today somewhere in our dehumanized, unintellectual society a Calpurnia to invite us to the delights of words?
Thierry Jan
