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I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith

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I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith Read and Download Ebook I Am Livia... I Am Livia Phyllis T. Smith PDF File: I Am Livia... 1 Read and Download Ebook I Am Livia... I Am Livia Phyllis T. Smith I Am Livia Phyllis T. Smith Her life would be marked by scandal and suspicion, worship and adoration… At the tender age of fourteen, Livia Drusilla overhears her father and fellow aristocrats plotting the assassination of Julius Caesar. Proving herself an astute confidante, she becomes her father’s chief political asset—and reluctantly enters into an advantageous marriage to a prominent military officer. Her mother tells her, “It is possible for a woman to influence public affairs,” reminding Livia that—while she possesses a keen sense for the machinations of the Roman senate—she must also remain patient and practical. But patience and practicality disappear from Livia’s mind when she meets Caesar’s heir, Octavianus. At only eighteen, he displays both power and modesty. A young wife by that point, Livia finds herself drawn to the golden-haired boy. In time, his fortunes will rise as Livia’s family faces terrible danger. But her sharp intellect—and her heart—will lead Livia to make an unbelievable choice: one that will give her greater sway over Rome than she could have ever foreseen. I Am Livia Details Date : Published May 1st 2014 by Lake Union Publishing (first published March 22nd 2011) ISBN : Author : Phyllis T. Smith Format : Kindle Edition 391 pages Genre : Historical, Historical Fiction, Fiction Download I Am Livia ...pdf Read Online I Am Livia ...pdf Download and Read Free Online I Am Livia Phyllis T. Smith PDF File: I Am Livia... 2 Read and Download Ebook I Am Livia... From Reader Review I Am Livia for online ebook Elena says Livia, wife of Caesar Augustus, has suffered a bad reputation. By many historians, she has been considered a ruthless, power-hungry woman, who poisoned half of her husband’s family, and maybe even Augustus himself. Still, I have always greatly admired her, probably because I can’t help but love powerful women in ancient history. In I Am Livia, Phyllis T. Smith finally does Livia justice, giving a sympathetic but not too biased portrayal of this enigmatic woman. Livia comes across as a very intelligent, competent, determined woman, with many admirable traits but also some defects which only make her more realistic and human. While her main priority is always the safety and peace of Rome, she is also interested in securing her personal power, which I found completely understandable. She is not ruthless, but she is very shrewd, and she is also a very skilled manipulator when she needs to. But again, these less positive traits only made me love her more. There wasn’t a single moment where I despised her. Augustus, or Tavius as he is called by Livia, is of course a secondary character compared to his wife, but he is still a wonderfully complex and fascinating individual. Historically, he is a very ambiguous figure, both ruthless and magnanimous, and Smith did quite a good job capturing his opposites traits. He isn’t always likeable, but overall he is consistent and realistic, and overall I loved him almost as much as I loved Livia. Predictably, since I adored both of them, I also absolutely loved their relationship. While not bereft of physical attraction, it is mostly an affinity of mind and character. It is evident from their interactions that they are two kindred souls who are just meant to be together. And, while their relationship is not overly romanticized, there are also some unexpectedly emotional scenes. I am not ashamed to say I was tearing up a little (view spoiler) The secondary characters are not overly featured but I still found the majority of them very well drawn. Apart maybe from Mark Antony, none of them is completely good or bad, but they are realistically complex individuals. Concluding, I had a wonderful time reading I Am Livia: it is a captivating story full of memorable characters, which every fan of historical fiction will surely enjoy. Highly, highly recommended. Emily says This book does NOT do Livia justice. She was one of the most powerful women in Roman history - and probably world history, as well - so I have trouble believing that the thinly sketched protagonist of this novel has any relation to the woman who becomes the first Augusta of Rome. I think I'm a little put out because a) I really want a novelization of Livia's rise to power, b) this somehow manages to make Octavian into a golden YA hero which is awful (he was a snake in the grass let's get real!!!), and c) oh my god Livia you are SO BORING IN THIS BOOK HOW IS THAT POSSIBLE. However, I'd also argue that it is well-nigh impossible to write an account of the years in which Caesar is assassinated and Antony is defeated in only 60 pages. This book is a little less than 400 pages long, and Livia lived for over eighty turbulent years. There is no possible way to do justice to her in such a short book. PDF File: I Am Livia... 3 Read and Download Ebook I Am Livia... Basically, the woman in this book is a naive child who likes "politics" (hilariously flattened into good and evil here), and I don't think she bears any relation to the woman who, while six months pregnant with someone else's child, convinces Octavian to divorce his wife and marry her, granting her the power to co-rule the empire. I mean, come on. I'd rather read about Livia as the stereotypical evil stepmother than this Livia. I did appreciate that Cicero was a dick, though. FACT: Cicero is always a dick. Rio (Lynne) says 3.5 stars. This was an audiobook. It wasn't heavy and I'm not an expert on Livia, but I believe this was a good way to get familiar with her. Most women were forgotten in this time period, because men wrote the history books, but as Emperor Augustus' wife, no one can deny she left her mark on Rome. This covers her childhood, marriage to Tiberus, then Tavius, up to The Battle of Actium aka Marc Antony and Cleopatra's demise. I enjoyed this story. How powerful was she? I believe a lot, but we will never know. If you're interested in this era, I'd recommend this for light reading or listening. Laura says Livia in an absolutely fascinating historical figure, and this book really doesn't do her credit. She both annoyed me and bored me, and the heart of this novel was essentially a romance novel. Obviously, her relationship with Augustus is hugely important and the reason she could wield so much power, but there wasn't enough on her relationship with her sons and her ambitions for them. It felt more like a teen romance than a biography of one of the most powerful women in the Roman Empire. And unfortunately her romance with Augustus is rushed and overwrought. They fall in love almost instantly (which, granted, may be historically accurate) so it's hard to root for them. I didn't feel the depth of emotion they were supposed to have for each other. And it doesn't help that their relationship is written in such a hyperbolic way: "Looking at him was bliss beyond bliss" and "I wanted to be with him more than anything else in the entire world." It's just over the top romantic drivel. I will give credit that the book is fairly historically accurate. It's not like Philippa Gregory's books thankfully. But at the same time, Livia deserves a more mature, engaging book, not something that feels so YA romance. Nicole~ says 3.5 stars The history of ancient Rome, in general, has cloaked the women of the Caesars in shadows and obscurity. Undoubtedly, these women are worthy of greater attention; their stories are fascinating in their own right, and rife with intrigue and scandal. Livia Drusilla (58 B.C.- 28 A.D.) was extremely charitable to the cause of orphans and provided relief support to victims of disasters. She was privy to affairs of state and had the ear of "the ruler of the world." She has been viewed as the most powerful woman in the history of ancient Rome and was deified as a goddess after her death. Livia was described by her grandson in I Claudius (1934) as: both "remarkable and abominable," and one of PDF File: I Am Livia... 4 Read and Download Ebook I Am Livia... the worst of the ancient Claudian family of Rome. Robert Graves's Claudius leaned to the beliefs that she was shrewd, cunning and responsible for poisoning many who crossed her path to power. Contemporary historians dispel this idea, finding these accusations baseless - a fair sentiment which Smith achieves in I am Livia by portraying her in a more judicious light. To be appreciated as a woman, and also to be appreciated as a creature with a mind --what more could I have wanted? The novel's similarity to I Claudius is its autobiographic-fictional device, used in this case, to tell the historical events starting from the murder of Julius Caesar to the last Civil War. Smith's work however, skims the surface of historical details and their significance in shaping the Empire, focusing more on the characters' relationships, specifically, the woman behind the man. Any woman who says she does not want to guide the actions of the man she loves, is in my opinion, lying.
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