The Return’s protagonist, suitably and ironically named, Gaius Furius Paullus arrives home in Temesa after three years of military service, decorated by the corona civica. Polluted by a killing just as he arrives home, he is also pursued by the Furies on account of his experience and actions during his time in the army. The story alternates between flashbacks to Paullus’ military life, presented in chapters entitled Militia 608/607 Ab Urbe Condita (147–146 BC) and the murder mystery he is solving in his present existence, presented in chapters entitled Patria 609 Ab Urbe Condita (145 BC).
Generally speaking, as someone who has striven endlessly over the years of my career to make the ancient world a lively and relevant place for the students I teach, I would recommend this book both to high school teachers and students of the ancient world, as another resource for adding colour and life to the study of this time period. Sidebottom is clearly well-versed in Roman history and culture and the inclusion of many small details (lares, genius, mos maiorum, ubi tu Gaius, ego Gaia to list just a few) combines with action and adventure to build a vivid big picture of that world.
As a middle-school Latin teacher with a strong background in Aegean pre-history, I didn't feel I knew much about the historical background to this book and found myself having to research the sack of Corinth in 146BC and the demise of the Achaean League, as well as the geographical setting of the Sila and Temesa in the murder-mystery aspect of the plot. I presume most school students reading this book would have to do the same but it was not an obstacle to my enjoyment of the plot by any means.
Again, as a middle-school Latin teacher, I probably wouldn't recommend this book to any of my 6th-8th grade students due to occasional language and descriptions of violence, but I could see it being a useful addition to a high school library as well as an ancillary tool to high school units on the Roman military. Sometimes, units on the Roman military can prove a little dry and I think using extracts from The Return would provoke interesting class discussions and provide the opportunity to make connections with the modern world as Sidebottom's hero experiences combat stress and guilt as a result of his time in the army. Moreover, I think students would enjoy reading or hearing about the different components of the legion such as hastati, principes, triarii or velites in the context of a story rather than lists of jobs soldiers could do which is how most text books present them. In addition, extracts from the book could be used to illuminate student knowledge of Roman agriculture and animal husbandry. I, for one, now have a clearer idea of what the practice of winnowing involves!
In conclusion, I enjoyed The Return sufficiently to hope that Gaius Furius Paullus makes a reappearance in a sequel at some point. After all, surely something noteworthy was occurring somewhere in the Roman world in the aftermath of The Return's conclusion in 612 Ab Urbe Condita (142 BC)? Paullus could next participate in the Third Celtiberian war perhaps? Whatever he may do, this Latin teacher looks forward to reading about it.
Open access
