The Last Emperor of Rome, a tale of love, betrayal, and turmoil, takes place during the final thirty-five years of the Western Roman Empire. It was a time of palace intrigue, assassinations, barbarian invasions, declining institutions, struggling political alliances, and a general breakdown of the imperial system of government which had ruled much of Europe and North Africa for the previous five hundred years. Before his entry onto the national stage, little is known about Emperor Julius Valerius Majorian, the major historical character of this novel. Therefore, the author invented much of...