The Bottom Line
Cicero was very active in the foreground of the period between the Bona Dea incident and the death of Clodius, but his role was usually peripheral, until The Lock, by Benita Kane Jaro.
Pros
- The Lock makes you want to know more about Cicero.
- The Lock is well-researched.
- Jaro gives a feel for the life, times, and corruption.
Cons
- (Sometimes) confusing - e.g. confrontation between Milo and Clodius.
- Understated - e.g. Pompey's responses to Cicero are unclear.
- (Very limited) pandering to 21st century expectations.
Description
- A carefully researched story about Cicero's role in public life, based largely on his letters.
- Demonstrates the operation of the offices and decaying legal system of the late Roman Republic.
- Clodius shown as a real threat to Roman society and not just a transvestite in the Bona Dea scandal.
Guide Review - The Lock Book Review
The Lock, by Benita Kane JaroFar removed from sensibilities that made a man's appearance in the house of the Vestals a national disaster, and without the help of an author like Jaro, it's hard for us to take the Bona Dea scandal seriously. When the beautiful aristocrat-turned-plebeian known as Clodius the Beautiful (Pulcher) claimed that because he had been out of Rome at the time he could not have defiled the Vestals' home, Cicero knew better. He couldn't keep silent. Cicero's evidence should have been enough to convict, but corruption had already seeped into all layers of Roman society.
Despite the fact that he beat the rap, Clodius Pulcher didn't shrug off Cicero's words -- ever. His faction pursued and threatened Cicero for 15 years. Not even Cicero's oldest friend, Pompey, could help. Or was it that Pompey just wouldn't? Read The Lock to find out.
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