Dynasty

By Tom Holland,

Book cover of Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar

Book description

'This is a wonderful, surging narrative - a brilliant and meticulous synthesis of the ancient sources . . . This is a story that should be read by anyone interested in history, politics or human nature - and it has never been better told' - Boris Johnson, Mail on Sunday…

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Why read it?

2 authors picked Dynasty as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

This is the second book in Tom Holland's trilogy on ancient Rome. Like the others, it is a riveting read. 'Dynasty' takes us from Augustus to Nero - and a wilder set of rulers it is hard to imagine. Augustus - ruthless, then with the wiles to keep the form of the republic while in fact ruling as the first emperor. Tiberius, with his predilection for sexual titillation. Caligula, whose dark name rings through history, Claudius, and of course Nero, who murdered his brother, his wife, his mother, and so many more. A narrative like this is a study in…

Dynasty is just a good historical read, one I enjoyed thoroughly. This is the place to go for a readable researched, thoroughly engaging story of the final collapse of the Republic under Caesar and how his heirs ushered in a new political system. The pivotal period where Octavian, adopted son of murdered Gaius Julius Caesar, survived in a cutthroat political and military arena and made himself Princeps, the first emperor, is just fascinating. The subsequent men and women of the Julio-Claudian dynasty and all of their political, and sometimes murderous, machinations come to life under Holland’s pen. An excellent choice…

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