The Last Villa - Ian M. Evans

A story of love, family tensions, danger, faith, endurance, and change during one the ‎ ‎

most turbulent times in the early history of Britain.‎

Villa Arcadius is a prosperous Romano-Briton estate in south Wales, a remote province of the ‎mighty Roman Empire for more than 300 years. Now, in AD 395, the Empire is on the point of ‎collapse. Entangled in power struggles and civil war, it faces enormous pressures from migrating ‎tribes massing on its borders. In Britain, the depleted and undisciplined Roman army offers little ‎protection from lethal raids by Scoti pirates and marauding Picts. The demise of civic ‎administration is causing wealthy families to abandon their properties and leave Britain. ‎Christianity may now be the official state religion, but the Church is embroiled in bitter theological ‎disputes and heresies.‎

Yet even in chaotic times individual lives go on. Families grow and change; everyone ‎ ‎must adapt to changing circumstances.‎

The devout domina of the villa, Galeria, is committing her wealth to building a just community. ‎Her intellectual son, Flavius, is focused on an alliance with the neighboring Celtic kingdom for ‎mutual protection and preserving the benefits of classical civilization. The heir to this realm, the ‎stunningly beautiful widow, Elen, must find a husband. Her young son, Dilectus, is a threat to the ‎ambitions of rival warlords, endangering him and his friends. Their coming-of-age means love for ‎him and Galeria's spirited granddaughter, Claudia. To fulfill a life-long dream, Galeria travels to ‎Rome to show Dilectus his heritage.‎

Their timing could not have been worse. The Eternal City is about to fall into the hands ‎ ‎of the Visigoths. What will become of the last villa in Britannia?‎