In 1974, a gold coin with the image of Caesar Augustus is discovered buried at the 2,000-year-old level of an archeological dig in Rome. That’s not unusual—except the medallion is dated 1998 and bears the inscription “Caesars Palace, Las Vegas.”
The story of how the coin became unstuck in time is the starting premise of A Coin for the Ferryman by Las Vegas-based author Megan Edwards, the winner of the 2023 Silver Pen Award from the Nevada Writers Hall of Fame. The story blends time travel and Roman history with a tale of betrayal and romance. The result is a page-turner of a novel in which scientists use a time machine to snatch Julius Caesar from 44 BCE seconds before his March 15 assassination at the Roman Senate—and transport him to a California physics lab.
But a Nobel laureate’s plan to quiz the dictator about mysteries of Roman history goes awry. Caesar flees to Vegas in the company of his interpreter, a beautiful Latin linguist who had previously worked as an escort in Sin City. The famous Roman, traveling incognito as a tourist, rides shotgun in a red Corvette speeding across the desert, checks into the hotel-casino that bears his name, and enjoys a run as a hot shooter at a craps table while avoiding capture by the bad guys.
That plot requires a great deal of suspension of disbelief from readers, but Edwards is uniquely qualified for the task. She holds a bachelor’s degree in classics from Scripps College and master’s from Claremont Graduate University. She lived and traveled extensively in Europe and taught Latin for 15 years before turning to writing as a memoirist and novelist. After her house was reduced to ashes by a California wildfire in 1993, she and her husband, Mark, took to the road, traveling in a motor home for almost seven years.
The seed of the book was planted while Edwards was still a student. After studying in Rome and Athens, she returned to the U.S. and visited the Getty Villa, a faux Roman mansion in the hills above Malibu. There, amid the statues, columns, pools and courtyards, Edwards wondered what an ancient Roman would think of the modern facsimile. The question bubbled in her brain for many years thereafter and grew into an outline for a book.
The couple came to Las Vegas “for a few weeks” in 1999 so that Edwards could get a sense of place of the city that Caesar would be visiting. Almost 25 years later, they are still there.
“I think if someone had told me when we left California that we would drive all over the country and parts of Canada in a mobile home and finally settle in Las Vegas, I would have said that’s the last thing that’s going to happen,” Edwards said. “… We both came to the conclusion that we really like this place. It really does stay interesting.”
The most noble Roman
Time travel stories are ubiquitous, and many authors have used Julius Caesar as a character in historical novels. But how would the patrician general-politician cope with being transported more than 2,000 years into the future?
“I hadn’t realized how challenging that is,” Edwards said. “If I did, I might not have tried it.”
Edwards’ characterization of Caesar is informed by his own writings, ancient historians’ accounts and Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar, a work familiar to many Americans. But wouldn’t even a warrior as brave as Caesar freak out if suddenly dropped into a world of aircraft, autos, telephones, skyscrapers and neon?
“A person like Caesar, who was very well-traveled and educated, was more used to seeing other cultures,” Edwards said. “I don’t think he would have the culture shock of someone who was less educated and less traveled.”
She noted that Caesar, at age 25, was captured by Cilician pirates. While imprisoned on an island, he acted more like the pirates’ commander than their prisoner. He even demanded his captors double the amount of his ransom, as befitting a person of his importance. After the brigands were paid and young Caesar was released, the noble Roman raised a fleet, captured the pirates and had them crucified. The guy didn’t mess around.
The Caesar who visits Las Vegas hasn’t lost his edge. He is confident and resourceful—and retains his aura of command. Even as a stranger in a very strange land, Caesar (as Shakespeare wrote) stands bestride the world “like a colossus” with all other people in his shadow. Yet his basic humanity often shines through in his interactions with the other characters.
The book’s main protagonist, Cassandra, the Vegas escort-turned-Latin interpreter, also comes across as a believable character. She questions the morality of plucking someone out of their natural time and place without their permission. She agonizes about whether she should tell Caesar that if and when he returns to 44 BCE, a mob of senators will fatally stab him 23 times, plunging the Roman Republic into civil war.
The book is published, but Edwards still has Caesar on her mind. She is at work on a screenplay based on the book.
“I’m thinking in terms of what will translate into a visual medium and what wouldn’t,” she said. “So I’m still grappling with Caesar’s visit to modern times. It’s the question that keeps on giving.”
Edwards’ other books include the travel memoir Roads From the Ashes: An Odyssey in Real Life on the Virtual Frontier, the humor book Caution: Funny Signs Ahead, the award-winning Copper Black mystery novels Getting Off on Frank Sinatra and Full Service Blonde, and the award-winning novel Strings: A Love Story.
A Coin for the Ferryman, by Megan Edwards, is available on Amazon in print, Kindle and audio versions. It also can be ordered online from Sundance Books and Music in Reno.