{"product_id":"dynasty-9780349123837","title":"Dynasty","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cb\u003e\u003ch3\u003e''A masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman Empire'' Sunday Times\u003c\/h3\u003e\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''Holland does not just tell the story of the reign of the Julio-Claudian family. He knits the history of ancient Rome into his narrative - its founding myths, the fall of the republic, the religious superstitions - with a skill so dextrous you don''t notice the stitching. Dynasty is both a formidable effort to compile what we can know about the ancient world and a sensational story'' \u003ci\u003eObserver\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A witty and skilful storyteller... He recounts with pleasure his racy tales of psychopathic cruelty, incest, paedophilia, matricide, fratricide, assassination and depravity'' William Dalrymple, \u003ci\u003eNew Statesman\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e''A wonderful, surging narrative... [for] anyone interested in history, politics or human nature - and it has never been better told'' \u003ci\u003eMail on Sunday\u003c\/i\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTHE TOP TEN \u003ci\u003eSUNDAY TIMES \u003c\/i\u003eBESTSELLER\u003c\/b\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHolland's masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman empire is, at its heart, a political analysis\u003c\/b\u003e . . . the story he tells strides onwards across the landscape of grief and horror without pause or stutter . . . Holland is unshockable as he proceeds with breezy, clear-eyed analysis from one degrading display of cruelty and paranoia to the next . . . It is down to his skill as a storyteller that there's no difficulty in imagining that it might all happen again tomorrow * Sunday Times *\u003cbr\u003eDeft and skilful . . . Among the many virtues of Tom Holland's terrific history is that he does not shrink from seeing the Roman emperors for what they were: 'the west's primal examples of tyranny' . . . \u003cb\u003e\u003ci\u003eDynasty \u003c\/i\u003eis both a formidable effort to compile what we can know about the ancient world and a sensational story\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eThis is a wonderful, surging narrative - a brilliant and meticulous synthesis of the ancient sources . . . This is\u003cb\u003e a story that should be read by anyone interested in history, politics or human nature\u003c\/b\u003e - and it has never been better told * Mail on Sunday *\u003cbr\u003eThis is history in which fact and fiction overlap, rigorously researched and lightened with dashes of humour . . . \u003cb\u003efirst-rate ancient history and a compulsively good read\u003c\/b\u003e * Daily Mail *\u003cbr\u003eA swaggering history of the dynastic house that Julius Caesar built. Nothing entertains like excess and the weird cruelties, bloody intrigues and eye-popping depravities of emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius and Nero are queasily fascinating * Sunday Express *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eA witty and skilful storyteller \u003c\/b\u003e. . . He recounts with pleasure his racy tales of psychopathic cruelty, incest, paedophilia, matricide, fratricide, assassination and depravity * New Statesman *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eBrilliant, terrifying and compelling\u003c\/b\u003e * Observer *\u003cbr\u003eA thrilling book by one of the country's best popular historians . . . genuinely breathtaking * History Today *\u003cbr\u003eHolland has crafted a history of early Rome that has \u003cb\u003eall the gripping detail and narrative momentum of a novel\u003c\/b\u003e... he gives the reader a startlingly visceral sense of the violence and brutality and wretched excess of ancient Rome -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *\u003cbr\u003e[A] dramatic, intrigue-ridden, blood-and-guts tale of Rome's first line of emperors -- Peter Jones * The Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDynasty\u003c\/i\u003e, like its companion volume \u003ci\u003eRubicon: The Last Years of \u003c\/i\u003e\u003ci\u003ethe Roman Republic\u003c\/i\u003e, is a fine example of narrative historical writing. Yet you could also read it as something else entirely: a meditation on the enduring power and possibilities of storytelling -- Richard Miles * Financial Times *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHolland writes with all the excitement and immediacy of the gossip-mongers of Rome\u003c\/b\u003e . . . One senses that if Tom Holland were emperor for the day he would give the crowd not only the bread and circuses but a jolly good education too -- Daisy Dunn * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eA richly panoramic picture of Rome in the first century AD -- Allan Massie * Literary Review *\u003cbr\u003eHolland's Tacitean vision of the dynasty of Augustus makes for a very compelling read * Times Literary Supplement *\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eHolland is at the top of his game, blending deep scholarly skill with real literary talent\u003c\/b\u003e -- Dan Jones * Evening Standard *\u003cbr\u003eThrilling, thunderous prose, fully equal to that of the great days of Thermopylae and Salamis * Wall Street Journal *\u003cbr\u003eHolland is perhaps Britain's most engrossing historical storyteller. He has a rare gift of combining academic respectability with a great knack as a narrator * Catholic Herald *\u003cbr\u003eThis is great material, and Holland does it justice with a chiseled prose style and an eye for the luminous detail.... Holland is a master of narrative history. On the strength of Dynasty, he deserves a laurel wreath * Washington Post *\u003cbr\u003eA vivid account of five Roman emperors, emphasizing their vices and vicious behavior with less attention to the vast empire, which continued to prosper despite them * Kirkus *\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eDynasty\u003c\/i\u003e has Holland's usual novelistic ability to bring a narrative alive, together with his extraordinary command of ancient sources * New York Times Book Review *","brand":"Little, Brown Book Group","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":47833052741975,"sku":"9780349123837","price":12.34,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9780349123837.jpg?v=1710341239","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/dynasty-9780349123837","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}