{"product_id":"alaric-s-gold","title":"Alaric’s Gold","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eAlaric’s Gold\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e is the hilarious story of the race to discover the river-bed tomb of Alaric, the Goth who sacked Rome in 410 AD, and to seize the fabulous hoard of treasure that was buried with him.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eSet in modern-day Italy this is also a fast-paced and gripping thriller about the recovery of that treasure.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe cast includes a roguish Italian Prime Minister, his favourite escort girl, dissolute diplomats, corrupt police officers and the mafia.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe action involves a helicopter jail break, kidnappings, a shoot-out with the mafia, and the discovery of a hoard of riches from the ancient world.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn one level this is a light and amusing story set in the present day, but on another it draws on genuine historical records to point the way to one of the richest graves in antiquity – a grave that, according to Edward Gibbon in ‘\u003cem\u003eThe Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire\u003c\/em\u003e’, had been constructed in a river-bed after its waters had been diverted ‘\u003cem\u003eby the labour of a captive multitude\u003c\/em\u003e’, a grave containing ‘\u003cem\u003ethe splendid spoils and trophies of Rome\u003c\/em\u003e’, one whose secrecy was assured by the ‘\u003cem\u003einhuman massacre of the prisoners who had been employed to execute the work\u003c\/em\u003e’ – and one about which the world appears largely to have forgotten.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe grave awaits discovery . . .\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":57507694412149,"sku":"9781806348176","price":9.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/alaric-s-gold","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}