12 h 30 minAudiobook7 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What can a man with a gift for stories hope for in a world that denies him freedom?
In Nicanor - Teller of Tales, C. Bryson Taylor follows a slave storyteller in Roman Britain, far from the heart of imperial power. Soldiers, officials, landowners and local people share this province, but they do not share equal standing. Nicanor’s gift places the telling of tales at the heart of a life shaped by others’ authority.
Around him, Roman rule is losing its hold, and the old order no longer feels secure. Love and the wish for freedom pull against duty. Through Nicanor, the story explores how a person lives under power—and what room remains for longing, choice and the stories people tell.
What you’ll discover
- A province on the edge Enter Roman Britain, where unequal lives unfold far from the empire’s centre.
- The storyteller’s gift Follow Nicanor and consider what a teller of tales can offer those with power.
- Love against duty Explore the pull between personal longing and the demands that shape a life.
- The wish for freedom Stay close to a slave storyteller’s longing to live beyond the limits imposed upon him.
- An uncertain old order Feel the uncertainty of a world where imperial rule can no longer be taken for granted.
Who will love it
Readers who love historical fiction with a poet at its heart will feel at home here, as will lovers of late Roman Britain, of love across class lines, and of stories about what storytelling can do for a person.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A boy hears the call of the tale
- Thorney, Tobias, and a girl who vanishes
- Seized into slavery at the white villa
- A lord's cruel scheme and a love that cannot be
- Eight months in the dark
- Iron mines, betrayal and a lonely ride
- What the teller of tales learns from loss
- Themes: power, love and bondage
- How the tale is told
Who’s who
- NicanorA gifted storyteller born to a bound British family, he longs for greatness and love, and learns what his voice is for.
- VariaThe only child of Lord Eudemius, a beautiful girl who lives in a dream and listens to Nicanor's tales in her garden.
- EudemiusA stern Roman lord, called the Torturer, who is racked by illness and wants a strong son-in-law to carry on his name.
- MariusA hard, ambitious Roman tribune, serving in Gaul, who agrees to marry Varia for her wealth and the power it brings.
- EldrisA young Christian slave and handmaid of Varia, hunted by Hito, who comes to love Nicanor but holds to her faith.
- WardoA Saxon slave in Eudemius's household and Nicanor's loyal friend, who makes one drunken mistake and tries to repair it.
- HitoThe fat, oily overseer of the household slaves, who abuses his power and hates Nicanor.
- NicodemusA one-eyed freedman who keeps a wine shop at Thorney and loves Nicanor as a son, with his wife Myleia.
Formats and delivery
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Nicanor, narrador de cuentos
by C. Bryson Taylor · 1906
A slave with a silver tongue falls for his master's dreaming daughter as Rome leaves Britain.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEspañol
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In short
A boy on a hillside sings to the stars, and a gift for tales stirs in him. Nicanor, Teller of Tales, by C. Bryson Taylor, is a historical novel set in Britain between 410 and 446, as Roman rule fades.
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A boy hears the call of the tale
Nicanor grows up in the gray north, beneath the great Wall of Hadrian. His father Rathumus is a British peasant bound to the land, and his mother Susanna is a Hebrew woman. His father sees that the gift of his storyteller great-grandfather has passed to the boy.
One night Susanna holds him in the loft. She warns him against boasting and asks him to keep his hands from blood and his tongue from deceit. Nicanor says sleepily that he will be greater than kings. She lies awake, knowing she has borne him only to give him up.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 7 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1906
- Language
- Español
- Reading time
- 8 h 10 min
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Taylor, C. Bryson. Nicanor - Teller of Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/nicanor-teller-of-tales.
Taylor, C. B. (2026). Nicanor - Teller of tales. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nicanor-teller-of-tales (Original work published 1906)
Taylor, C. Bryson. Nicanor - Teller of Tales. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nicanor-teller-of-tales.
@book{taylor2026nicanor,
author = {Taylor, C. Bryson},
title = {Nicanor - Teller of Tales},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/nicanor-teller-of-tales},
note = {First published 1906}
}
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What is Nicanor, Teller of Tales about?
It follows Nicanor, a gifted young storyteller born into bondage in Roman Britain, as he moves from a northern farm to Thorney, a great villa and the iron mines, while Roman rule fades around him.
When and where is Nicanor, Teller of Tales set?
It is set in Britain between the years 410 and 446, in the last days of Roman rule. Places include Thorney, Londinium, a villa near Anderida, and the iron mines near the Severn.
Who are Nicanor and Varia?
Nicanor is a slave and storyteller with a silver tongue. Varia is the only daughter of the Roman lord Eudemius, a beautiful young woman whose mind drifts like a child's. Their meetings in a garden shape the story.
The author
C. Bryson Taylor
1880–1936 · American author
C. Bryson Taylor (1880–1936) was an American author who wrote fiction in the early twentieth century. Taylor’s novel In the Dwellings of the Wilderness was published in 1904. Another novel, Nicanor, Teller of Tales, followed in 1906.
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