SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome by Mary Beard
538 pages
Published 2015
Read from April 6 to April 12
Rating: ★★★★ out of 5
Now this is how to do a history tome. Beard has been recommended to me in the past, and I must say I am thoroughly impressed by her mix of hard-nosed skepticism, dry humor, and colorful character detail, as well as her resistance to the Big Person trap that certain other historians (cough, Susan Wise Bauer, cough) slide into. It's refreshing to see a historian simultaneously seeking out the almost-lost voices of common folk, delighting in barroom jokes painted in Pompeii and the modest gravestone brags of successful laundrymen, while minimizing the personal impact of any given emperor's foibles.
I particularly admired Beard's approach to handling the "truth" behind the myths (such as Romulus and Remus, or the ancient Roman kings, or various heroes of the early Republic). In perfect contrast to Bauer, who insisted on some nugget of fact inspiring even the most outlandish ancient myth, Beard is interested, sensibly, in what the telling of these myths might suggest about the concerns, worldview, and hidden anxieties of contemporary people. Throughout, Beard retains her healthy skepticism while demonstrating a thorough expertise in her subject matter -- all with a dexterous and appealing command of prose, a rare combination of historical expert and polished author. This may be her magnum opus, but I'm eager to look into her other books.
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