Emperor of Rome The Instant Sunday Times Bestseller

<p><b>THE INSTANT <i>SUNDAY TIMES</i> TOP TEN & </b><b><i>NEW YORK TIMES </i>BESTSELLER</b><br><b>BLACKWELL'S NON-FICTION BOOK OF THE YEAR</b><br><b>SHORTLISTED FOR THE WATERSTONES BOOK OF THE YEAR 2023</b><br><br><b>'Extraordinary ... a deliciously varied tapestry of detail drawn from across nearly three centuries' <i>Telegraph</i></b><br><br><b>What was it really like to rule and be ruled in the Ancient Roman world?</b><br><br>In her international best-seller <i>SPQR</i>, 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)<i>.</i><br><i><br>Emperor of Rome</i> 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?<br><br><i>Emperor of Rome</i> goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was <i>to be Roman, </i>offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.</p>