First published 2018
At a military camp in Ardea, Roman soldier Collatine boasts about his wife Lucrece's beauty and chastity to fellow soldier Tarquin. The next morning, Tarquin rides to Collatine's home, where Lucrece welcomes him as her husband's comrade. After entertaining her with battlefield stories, Tarquin spends the night, wrestling with his growing desire. He enters her chamber while she sleeps and threatens her life and honor unless she submits to him. Despite her pleas, he rapes her and flees in shame. Devastated, Lucrece summons her husband home. When Collatine arrives with other soldiers, she makes them swear to avenge the crime before revealing Tarquin as her attacker. She then stabs herself and dies. Collatine's grief overwhelms him, but his friend Brutus convinces him that revenge serves better than suicide. This narrative poem explores how one act of violence destroys multiple lives and demands justice.
Genres: literature, drama, historical-fiction, abuse, crime, epic-poetry, ancient-history, classical-studies
Vibes: dark, emotional, intimate, thought-provoking
Tropes: enemies-to-lovers, revenge
Setting: Ardea
Period: Ancient Rome
224 pages · Paperback · Createspace Independent Publishing Platform
Content warnings: rape, sexual-assault, violence