Wilkie Collins, celebrated as a pioneer of the sensation novel, made his literary debut with the sprawling historical epic, Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. This ambitious work transports readers to 408 A.D., during the pivotal siege of Rome by the Visigothic army led by King Alaric. Collins vividly portrays a city ravaged not only by the external "barbarian" threat but also by its own internal corruption, moral decadence, and political weakness. The novel’s vast scope weaves together the destinies of high-born patricians, early Christian converts, and the invading Goths themselves, creating a powerful fresco of a civilization on the brink of collapse.

The central conflict is embodied by the young, beautiful, and innocent Antonina, a woman of high Roman lineage. Her personal journey of terror and moral reckoning becomes a symbol of Rome's vanishing grace and its fraught transition into a new era. Her fate is juxtaposed with that of Hermanric, a noble Goth warrior whose motivations often appear more honorable than those of the corrupt Roman officials, challenging simplistic notions of barbarism and civilization. The story’s intensity is heightened by the era's religious drama, as Collins explores the growing power of Christianity and its stark contrast with the failing Roman paganism. Antonina is drawn toward this burgeoning faith, seeking salvation from the chaos and forcing her to choose between the doomed traditions of her ancestors and a new spiritual path. More than a historical adventure, Antonina is a profound inquiry into the forces that lead to the fall of empires, using its heroine's perilous journey to ask enduring questions about morality, conquest, and the fragile nature of societal order.

Table of Contents:

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 1

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 2

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 3

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 4

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 5

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 6

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 7

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 8

• Antonina; Or, The Fall of Rome. Part 9