A Scandalous History of the Roman Emperors [Paperback]

Anthony Blond (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: July 17, 2000

Warts and all, Rome's five most illustrious emperors march boldly and baldly through the pages of this eye-opening account of the successors to Julius Caesar. In their wake follow the glories and the gossip, the triumphs and the undebatably atrocious behavior, the extravagance and the scandal. Here are Caesar's nephew Augustus, who suffered from eczema and was terrified of thunder and lightning; the impeccable Tiberius, who ended up sadistic and paranoid on Capri; the totally mad Caligula; treacherous Claudius; and Nero, who fiddled and opposed blood sports. Besides chronicling their marriages, adulteries, conspiracies, murders, nasty habits, and refined tastes, this volume also illuminates the social and political life of Rome in the first century AD, from the sexual mores to imperial law, from Roman sport to the Latin palate, which is explored in a robustly detailed essay by Laura Blond.

Editorial Reviews

From Booklist

In an "Apology" that starts his book, Blond states, self-effacingly, "There is nothing original in this book." In one sense, his biographies add little to the standard portraits of the Caesars the Roman historian Suetonius limned centuries ago. On the other hand, Blond's accompanying essays on Roman life and times bring together readable, relevant background on the social habits of imperial Romans. Roman legal, military, social, and sexual practices were often unique in the ancient world, and Blond's essays put the emperors' behavior in context. Blond's biographies cover just the first six emperors, from Julius Caesar through Nero. A glossary explains Latin terms in greater detail, noting, for example, that Roman use of the term Africa referred solely to the countries bordering the southern Mediterranean. Further essays describe everyday Roman life. The recent movie The Gladiator has piqued interest in this ancient empire, and this intelligent summary ably addresses novices' curiosity. Mark Knoblauch
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Product Details

• Paperback: 256 pages
• Publisher: Basic Books (July 17, 2000)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786707593
• ISBN-13: 978-0786707591
• Product Dimensions: 7.8 x 5.1 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (16 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,464,709 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Horrible!, June 21, 2005

By 

M. Thorn (Wellington, NZ) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Scandalous History of the Roman Emperors (Paperback)

This book is not only shallow and vacuous, it is also abysmally poorly written and edited. Whole paragraphs appear several times in the book and seem completely disconnected from anything else. It is like a 7-year-old got into the word processor and had fun with "copy", "cut" and "paste" for an afternoon. I got the feeling that this was simply a very rough first draft that somehow ended up getting rushed to the presses.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Blond is knowlegable, but his editor should be flogged, November 30, 2003

By 

Jim (Santa Clara, CA, United States) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: A Scandalous History of the Roman Emperors (Paperback)

The initial chapters are pretty decent, with many interesting anecdotes and parentheticals (which I seem to enjoy more than many other reviewers).

Unfortunately, the general untidiness of Mr Blond's prose seems to build in a wave, until by the middle of the book (the chapter on Julius Ceasar), it's degenerated almost to the point of being incomprehensible. I've struggled through one additional chapter, the one on Augustus, and it doesn't seem to be getting better. It's uncertain whether I'll be able to finish a book that no longer seems to be printed in English. Really, I blame whoever failed to edit this book.

Do yourself a favor - buy a different book.

8 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hilarious Introduction to the Early Roman Empire, May 1, 2002

By 

James Paris "Tarnmoor" (Los Angeles, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: A Scandalous History of the Roman Emperors (Paperback)

Isn't the title of the book a dead giveaway? Whether or not the author selected it himself or it was tagged on at the publisher's request, the title should tell you that this is NOT a serious scholarly work. At the same time, it is apparent that Anthony Blond knows his subject matter well: He just wanted to have some fun. I picked up this book to read for fun and actually learned quite a bit I didn't already know from Michael Grant, Tacitus, or Suetonius.

The first chapter is about sex. That's another giveaway for the Hengist & Horsa crowd (q.v. Lewis Carroll) that tried to savage this book in their reviews. And it covers only the most interesting emperors. Oh, I suppose he could have gone on with chapters on Galba, Otho, and Vitellius -- but, after all, they didn't last long enough to make an impression, did they?

This is a good starting point for someone who wants a quick survey of the subject without getting lost in the footnotes. Blond mentions some interesting secondary sources along the way, and has even interested me in seeking out Josephus, Martial and Juvenal. His send-up of Cicero as a corrupt slumlord was a new one on me: I guess I better read some of those letters to Atticus.

You don't have to be dull to write about Roman history. Anthony Blond does a creditable job here and makes me want to read more of his work.