Emperor of Rome Audiobook By Mary Beard cover art

Emperor of Rome

Ruling the Ancient World

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Emperor of Rome

By: Mary Beard
Narrated by: Mary Beard
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About this listen

A sweeping account of the social and political world of the Roman emperors by “the world’s most famous classicist” (Guardian).

In her international bestseller 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? She tracks down the emperor at home, at the races, on his travels, even on his way to heaven. She introduces his wives and lovers, rivals and slaves, court jesters and soldiers—and the ordinary people who pressed begging letters into his hands. 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.

PLEASE NOTE: When you purchase this title, the accompanying PDF will be available in your Audible Library along with the audio.

©2023 Mary Beard (P)2023 Profile Books Ltd
Historical Presidents & Heads of State Rome Thought-Provoking Ancient Rome Italy Ancient History Ancient Greece
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What listeners say about Emperor of Rome

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Wasn't sure but won me over

I've liked Beard's other books, but was leery of author self-narration. Not at all - she brought the material to life!

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20 people found this helpful

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Eye opening and accessible!

Mary Beard is the type of professor you actually learn from in this masterful study of Roman Emperors, well worth the time and investment.

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1 person found this helpful

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Wow!

A great and thorough collection of analysis and history of the emperors of Rome, loved this!

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missing the PDF

This review is specific to the Audible version. It seems like there should be an accompanying PDF, but it isn't provided.

The actual book is excellent, and Prof. Beard is a wonderful narrator.

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7 people found this helpful

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Informative

Well written and detailed book. Learned several things I didn’t know previously. My only complaint is that it is so slowly read I had to speed it up to help from falling asleep.

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Must be the narration....

I know much of this information and when I can track with the author's thread I enjoy the content but the narration is so hard to work with. I find it so difficult to follow what is being communicated and keep drifting off the track despite my strong desire to get with it. Every five minutes I have to refocus because I've completely lost track - and after thinking about this phenomenon I have decided it must be the sing-song narration since I've almost never had this difficulty with any of my other thousand titles. I am interested in SPQR but will need to sample fully I think...

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Very Engaging Read

I really enjoyed this book, my first from Professor Beard. She kept me very entertained and explained the role of the Roman emperors and society in an engaging manner.

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A worthy follow up to her excellent SPQR

I am generally well-grounded in Roman history, so I give this book high marks for expanding beyond the “who, what, where, when” of history to the “how”. For example, it amazed me how descriptions of Roman dining explained so much about how Roman rulers ruled. Mary Beard does an excellent job narrating her book. Her voice added so much to my enjoyment and attention to her work. This is a worthy follow up to her excellent SPQR.

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16 people found this helpful

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big Mary Beard fan

Very solid and accessible account of the intimacies of the Roman Imperial house during the reigns of various emperors. Mary Beard succeeds again in providing an informative narrative in a compelling package

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5 people found this helpful

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the impresive accounts of Romans

Fantastic...Mary is just so delightful to listen...she is a great investigator of the Roman Empire

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2 people found this helpful