A “startlingly visceral” (
The New York Times
) portrait of Rome’s first imperial dynasty, from Augustus to Nero—by the acclaimed author of
Rubicon
and co-host of the hit podcast
The Rest Is History
“Holland is a master of narrative history. On the strength of
Dynasty,
he deserves a laurel wreath.” —
The Washington Post
In
Dynasty
, Tom Holland traces the astonishing century-long story of the rise and fall of the Julio-Claudians—Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, and Nero. Capturing both the brilliant allure of their rule and the blood-steeped shadows cast by their crimes,
travels from the great capital rebuilt in marble to the dank and barbarian forests of Germany.
Populated by a spectacular cast—murderers, adulterers, Druids, scheming grandmothers, reluctant gladiators—it vividly recreates the world of Rome after Julius Caesar. A tale of rule and ruination,
is the story of a family that transformed and stupefied the western world and that continues to cast a mesmerizing spell across the millennia.