Emperor of Rome

Cruel control freaks, diligent workaholics or extravagant teenagers? What were the emperors of Rome really like?In her international best-seller SPQR, Mary Beard told the thousand-year story of ancient Rome. Now, she shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman empire, from Julius Caesar (assassinated 44 BCE) to Alexander Severus (assassinated 235 CE).Emperor of Rome is not your usual chronological account of Roman rulers, one after another: the mad Caligula, the monster Nero, the philosopher Marcus Aurelius. Beard asks bigger questions: What power did emperors actually have? Was the Roman palace really so bloodstained?Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

Praise for Mary Beard: 'An accomplished scholar and lively debunker...Beard informs and entertains without ever patronising her readers. What she touches turns to light, Mary Beard has pulled off that rare trick of becoming a don with a high media profile who hasn't sold out, who is absolutely respected by the academy for her scholarship ... what she says is always powerful and interesting, Dynamically, wittily and authoritatively brings the ancient world to life, An irrepressible enthusiast with a refreshing disregard for convention

Mary Beard is Professor Emerita of Classics at Cambridge, and the classics editor of the TLS. She has worldwide academic acclaim. Her previous books include the bestselling, Wolfson Prize-winning Pompeii, Confronting the Classics, SPQR and most recently, Women & Power and Twelve Caesars. She has made numerous television series and her books have been published in over thirty languages.

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