Description

A striking nuanced biography of Nerothe controversial populist ruler and last of the Caesarsand a vivid portrait of ancient Rome

Exciting and provocative Nero is a pleasure to readBarry Strauss author of The War That Made the Roman Empire Antony Cleopatra and Octavian at Actium

The Roman emperor Neros name has long been a byword for cruelty decadence and despotism As the stories go he set fire to Rome and thrummed his lyre as it burned He then cleared the charred ruins and built a vast palace He committed incest with his mother who had schemed and killed to place him on the throne and later murdered her

But these stories left behind by contemporary historians who hated him are hardly the full picture and in this nuanced biography celebrated historian Anthony Everitt and investigative journalist Roddy Ashworth reveal the contradictions inherent in Nero and offer a reappraisal of his life Contrary to popular memory the empire was well managed during his reign He presided over diplomatic triumphs and his legions overcame the fiery British queen Boudica who led one of the greatest revolts Rome had ever had to face He loved art culture and music and he won the loyalty of the lower classes with fantastic spectacles He did not set fire to Rome

In Nero ancient Rome comes to life the fireprone streets the deadly political intrigues and the ongoing architectural projects In this teeming politically unstable world Nero was vulnerable to fierce reproach from the nobility and relatives who would gladly usurp him and he was often too ready to murder rivals He had a vision for Rome but racked by insecurity he perhaps lacked the stomach to govern it

This is the bloodstained story of one of Romes most notorious emperors but in Everitt and Ashworths hands Neros life is also a complicated cautionary tale about the mettle required to rule