Empress of Rome: The Life of Livia

Paperback / softback

Main Details

Title Empress of Rome: The Life of Livia
Authors and Contributors      By (author) Matthew Dennison
Physical Properties
Format:Paperback / softback
Pages:352
Dimensions(mm): Height 196,Width 130
ISBN/Barcode 9780857381637
ClassificationsDewey:937.07092
Audience
General

Publishing Details

Publisher Quercus Publishing
Imprint Quercus Publishing
Publication Date 7 July 2011
Publication Country United Kingdom

Description

Empress of Rome is the fascinating biography of one of the most perplexing and powerful figures of the ancient world: the empress Livia. Second wife of the emperor Augustus and the mother of his successor Tiberius, Livia has been vilified by posterity (most notably by Tacitus and Robert Graves) as the quintessence of the scheming Roman matriarch, poisoning her relatives one by one to smooth her son's path to the imperial throne. In this elegant and rigorously researched biography, Matthew Dennison rescues the historical Livia from this crudely drawn caricature of the popular imagination. He depicts a complex, courageous and richly gifted woman whose true crime was not was not murder but the exercise of power, and who, in a male-dominated society, had the energy to create for herself both a prominent public profile and a significant sphere of political influence.

Author Biography

Matthew Dennison is the author of 'The Last Princess: The Devoted Life of Queen Victoria's Youngest Daughter' (2007). A journalist, he contributes to The Times, The Daily Telegraph, The Spectator and Country Life. He is married and lives in London and North Wales.

Reviews

'Brilliant' Daily Express. * Daily Express * 'Ebullient' The Times. * The Times *