Marcus is a part of a baker’s family in Roman times under the tough reign of Emperor Gaius Caligula. One day, a mysterious slave hands him a racing horse and disappears. The horse turns out to be the emperor’s horse, Consul Incitatus, and now Marcus is facing danger to his life while deciding what to do with the horse. At the end there is a short passage of explanation regarding Caligula and his horse. Marcus shares with the reader the hard life his family lived under the mad emperor who took their horses and slaves. The author emphasizes the hierarchy in Roman society by showing the attitude of Marcus towards the slave boy who gave him the horse; The nerve of him! A slave, telling me what to do!” (101–102) then Marcus realizes that he was holding the emperor’s horse, which was given by Caligula the title of consul, consul Incitatus. Marcus explains how horrific the times have become; “I can assure you there was nothing funny about Emperor Gaius and his madness. We had all celebrated when he took over as our emperor. Anything had to be better than Tiberius. That’s what we thought, anyway. It just goes to show how wrong you can be.” (147–149). Marcus explains that the emperor got ill and when he recovered he completely transformed – this is of course in keeping with Suetonius’ account. The horrible deeds of Caligula and his awful nature are mentioned in glimpses, like the murder of Marcus’ grandfather. Marcus brings the horse home to hide it. And in the meantime news is spreading that the emperor is dead. Since in the ancient text we never hear the voice of the common people, it is interesting that the author chose to liven up the ancient times as they were perceived by middle-class working citizens and their reaction to the imperial rule. The family is an eyewitness to Roman imperial politics. When the rumors of Caligula’s death spread, they were disbelieved; “But the maddest rumour of all, the one that cheered us all up and gave us a good laugh, was that there were plans afoot to crown Claudius as the next Caesar.”(432–433).

For young readers who have no knowledge of ancient Roman emperors, the book might be a bit difficult to follow, although it is very well-written and explained. Yet the use of terms like Praetorian Guard, Consul, or Caesars might prove to be confusing. Some children would probably enjoy the story about hiding a horse without the Roman connections. In the end, Marcus saves the horse, wins Claudius’ favour and returns home. The horse is placed at the centre of the political change in Rome and through its and his owner’s eyes we get a bit closer to what was happening. This is a new take on ancient Roman daily life.

The review refers to the Kindle edition.