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Palatine

An Alternative History of the Caesars
By Peter Stothard
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Brief Description
'Lets us see how power really worked, in public and private ... Stothard tells this story superbly'Dominic Sandbrook, SUNDAY TIMES 14 CE: The first Roman emperor is dead. A second is about to succeed. The Forum of Rome, once fought over so fiercely, has become hardly... Read More
Format: Paperback / softback
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A stunning account of Rome from Tiberius to Claudius, Caligula and Nero for readers of Tom Holland and Mary Beard

Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description
'Lets us see how power really worked, in public and private ... Stothard tells this story superbly'
Dominic Sandbrook, SUNDAY TIMES

14 CE: The first Roman emperor is dead. A second is about to succeed. The Forum of Rome, once fought over so fiercely, has become hardly more than a museum. The house of all power is up above on the Palatine Hill, about to become the birthplace of Western bureaucracy, a warren of banqueting and bedrooms, a treacherous household where it takes special talents to survive.

This is a Roman history with a cast of new men and newly dominant women, those reviled too often in the past as flatterers and gluttons, uppity slaves and former slaves, lawyers-for-hire, chancer arrivistes and unhinged party animals. Palatine uncovers the lives of the Vitellii, perhaps Rome's least admired imperial clan, of Publius, an old-fashioned soldier snared in the politics of the new age, of Lucius, an exceptionally skilled and sycophantic courtier, and of Aulus, a genial sluggard whose prowess at the table carries him all the way to the throne before collapsing his family's reputation for ever.

Few now remember them. Yet in their creeping ascent to the very summit of the imperial hierarchy lie neglected truths about a lasting legacy of Rome.

Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781474621014

Publisher: Orion Publishing Co

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 11 April 2024

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Weidenfeld & Nicolson

Audience: General / adult

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 26.0mm

Width: 128.0mm

Height: 194.0mm

Weight: 252g

Pages: 336

Collections

Ancient & Classical History History & Archaeology History & Military Non-Fiction Peter Stothard

About the Author

Peter Stothard is an author, journalist and critic. He is a former editor of The Times and of The Times Literary Supplement. His books include ALEXANDRIA, THE LAST NIGHTS OF CLEOPATRA, ON THE SPARTACUS ROAD and THE LAST ASSASSIN. He lives in Cambridge.

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