Historical relevance - the Romans

History repeats itself, I said, history repeats itself! In researching my parallel Roman storylines, I must admit I am surprised by how much things change and how much they stay the same. The politics of the Roman senate, through the myriad iterations of its operation, with consuls, emperors, and dictators, can be seen as similar to the present. Making such comparisons, though, is not especially encouraging. We would all aspire to the notion that civilisation has moved on; however, the recent global events sadly suggest otherwise to me.

The pursuit of power, the determination to hold onto it when achieved, and the selfish manipulation of the rule of law are as present today as they were two thousand years ago. Pair this view with the “Peter Principle” that in modern democratic society, people are promoted up to the level of their own incompetence, and it makes for a worrying combination.

Another observation I find interesting is that, within modern democracies, the electorate needs to like the leader they elect, often irrespective of the leader's actual capability to lead. We tend to think that from the baby boomers onwards, we have lived in a relatively peaceful era, and yet Stalin had only just died. While many of us were being captivated by The Beatles and The Rolling Stones, Chairman Mao was busy pursuing his Cultural Revolution Terror campaign that murdered millions of his own people. Mao used students as a key part of his campaign, which is also food for thought today.

Fortunately, Rebecca and Jack have the knack for finding slightly more uplifting tales from the past, as you will find in upcoming book 4 of the series, The Sicilian Trick, which will be out early in 2026!