Uploaded November 2023 | Updated September 2026, 4 hours ago

---

Mary Beard introduces readers to her latest book Emperor of Rome, which has been crowned Blackwell's Book of the Year 2023.

Order your copy: blackwells.co.uk/bookshop/product/Emperor-of-Rome-by-Mary-Beard/9781846683787

In her international best-seller SPQR, 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).

Emperor of Rome 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?

Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman (and our own) fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

#BookofTheYear #classics #romanempire #marybeard #emperorofrome #blackwells