The Roman Republic was the most remarkable state in history. What began as a small community of peasants camped among marshes and hills ended up ruling the known world. Rubicon paints a vivid portrait of the Republic at the climax of its greatness - the same greatness which would herald the catastrophe of its fall. It is a story of incomparable drama. This was the century of Julius Caesar, the gambler whose addiction to glory led him to the banks of the Rubicon, and beyond; of Cicero, whose defence of freedom would make him a byword for eloquence; of Spartacus, the slave who dared to challenge a superpower; of Cleopatra, the queen who did the same. Read the Preface - click here. Tom Holland brings to life this strange and unsettling civilization, with its extremes of ambition and self-sacrifice, bloodshed and desire. Yet alien as it was, the Republic still holds up a mirror to us. Its citizens were obsessed by celebrity chefs, all-night dancing and exotic pets; they fought elections in law courts and were addicted to spin; they toppled foreign tyrants in the name of self-defence. Two thousand years may have passed, but we remain the Romans' heirs.
Reviews 'The book that really held me, in fact, obsessed me, was Rubicon by Tom Holland. This is narrative history at its best.' Ian McEwan, The Guardian Books of the Year ‘Holland has the rare gift of making deep scholarship accessible and exciting. A brilliant and completely absorbing study.’ A. N. Wilson, author of The Victorians 'This is the most exciting political history I've ever read.' MAIL ON SUNDAY 'Tom Holland's excellent new study of the fall of the Republic…re-evaluating Rome for a new generation.' Robert Harris, SUNDAY TIMES
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