Play the Roman Fool

Fanfiction
Title:	Play the Roman Fool
Author(s):	toujours_nigel
Date(s):	16 November 2010
Length:	1172 words
Genre:	AU
Fandom:	Mary Renault
External Links:	(members-locked)
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"Play the Roman Fool" by toujours_nigel is a short story based on Mary Renault's 1953 novel The Charioteer. It is a AU set in 1942 or '43 in a world where the Nazis won World War II and occupied Britain.

Synopsis

One by one their friends have...gone. Now, Ralph cleans his gun.

Background

"Play the Roman Fool" was written for the au_bingo square "Alternate History: Major Historical Event Changed".

Comments

The story was received such comments as the following:

• "Oh, I'm speechless. This is really powerful."—comment by queen_ypolita
• "I'll have to get back to you. Busy curling myself into the fetal position right now."—comment by my_cnnr
  • "Just dropping back in to say that this has left quite a cloud. You know me well enough by now not to take that as a negative - I do mean in all sincerity that the atmosphere has lingered. I spent much of the day feeling as if something dreadful had happened, that couldn't be remedied.
    AU's - particularly ones that include evil personified - have such potential to be dreadful; this, instead, was quite powerful. Well done, friend."—subsequent comment by my_cnnr
• "Your use of the 'Before' and 'After' is very effective (completely chilling in fact)"—comment by fawatson
  • "What I find chilling is the list of names, known and not. That too is very effective."—response by greerwatson

Toujours_nigel has also written a prequel to "Play the Roman Fool", "Our Brief Wage" (posted 25 September 2011).