The dream of scipio
Iain Pears
Dream of Scipio is a novel written by Iain Pears that's set in what is now known as Avignon during three important time periods of western civilization: the collapse of the Roman Empire during the fifth century, the emergence and prevalence of the Black Plague in the fourteenth century, and World War II. Three different characters are followed within these respective time-periods: Manlius is an aristocrat obsessed with preserving Roman civilization, Olivier is a poet and scholar acting in the Papal court at Avignon, and Julien is a classical scholar working with the Vichy government. The questions raised within the novel include the true meaning of civilization, and what about the past is worth saving. The relationship between the body and the soul, truth and text surfaces as Pears illustrates that history is both controlled by one person or time and shared by the interwoven connections between multiple periods and persons.