Threshold of Fire: A Novel of Fifth-Century Rome

Perhaps because I was expecting something like her In a Dark Wood Wandering, an epic tale that spans decades, I found this hard going at first. What, a historical novel that is scarcely more than the troubled thoughts of one man, and the scribblings of another? But by the time I was finished, I felt that I had experienced something really unique, and I'm certainly going to read this book again to extract more of its richness. The story focuses on two characters: Hadrian, the chief magistrate of Rome, and Claudian, the greatest poet of the age. Of Claudian's life we in fact know little, other than that he hailed from Egypt, had a meteoric career writing panegyrics and invective for the court, and then disappeared from view around the time that his patron at court, Stilicho, was executed by the emperor. For the sake of her story, Haasse assumes that Claudian's origins were humble, that his success was largely due to the help of Hadrian, and that he has lived illegally in Rome for a decade after his fall from court favor. She also postulates that he is fundamentally sympathetic to the pagans, who by this time must practice their rituals in the utmost secrecy, on pain of exile and confiscation of property. When he is implicated in an illegal rite, he appears before the magistrate, and the story is about what happens between them, and in their thoughts, over the course of a day. Although this is very much an "interior" sort of book, the sense of historical reality is very strong indeed. As much as I have studied this period, I have never felt such a vivid sense of what it was actually like to be alive then. The religion that defined the state for centuries is now a hole-and-corner affair; Rome is still under the shadow of the Gothic sack that took place a few years earlier; actors who formerly packed the theaters are reduced to playing obscene mimes at private parties. Claudian, living furtively in a tenement, typifies the coming state of classical civilization itself. There are lapses. One of the remembered characters plays chess, a game that was certainly not invented till two centuries later. The magistrate cites the Theodosian Code -- the law he refers to exists, but the codification didn't come until later. These are, however, minor quibbles. The historical foundation is firm, and the insights are profound.

The first time I read this book I hated it; someone had given it to me to write a review and I couldn't say anything good, so I didn't write one. The second time I read it was after reviewing all of Gibbon's Decline and Fall..still caught up in the mood of how horribly we Christians became just as jaded-persecutory as those who had persecuted us. So, thus caught up, I noticed that what REALLY got to everyone in Rome was kinda like what happened to the Laodiceans -- been there, done that, what's the new pleasure now.Haasse captures it perfectly. I couldn't put the book down, couldn't sleep. History books, even eloquent ones like Gibbon and Mommsen, can't give you the LIVING flavor of the time. But that's Haasse's specialty, I just learned. Enjoy! Oh -- and don't ask me to give you my free copy of her book (from years ago). I will take it to my grave!The ONLY reason I didn't give it 5 Stars is that I wanted the novel to be longer. But, given it's about Rome, like with Greek plays the action has to take place over a day (or two). Alas...

This was my first enconter with Hella Hasse. The psicological development of the personages and plot, made this book exiting to me. The texture of the story and the development of the characters, in their relationship to the central figure is well done and mantains the readers attention and exitement. Although, this is a historical period which I've enjoyed encountering in my reading, this is the first time that I look at it as a personal experience. The tensions brought about by Chritianity becoming the official religion of the Roman empire are well put forward and are given a reality not found in my other readings on the subject. Now my problem, is to find the time to read all her historical novels. A very enjoyable experince for a historical novel reader like me, who also devotes time to reading history.