The Poison King

By Adrienne Mayor,

Book cover of The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy

Book description

Machiavelli praised his military genius. European royalty sought out his secret elixir against poison. His life inspired Mozart's first opera, while for centuries poets and playwrights recited bloody, romantic tales of his victories, defeats, intrigues, concubines, and mysterious death. But until now no modern historian has recounted the full story


When you buy books, we may earn a commission that helps keep our lights on (or join the rebellion as a member).

Why read it?

1 author picked The Poison King as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

I loved this book because it was a readable, compelling look at one of the great villains (or heroes, depending upon your perspective) of the Classical world. 

I found the imaginative, but historically informed, reconstructions of Mithridates’ life refreshing; they gave the venomous protagonist a humanity that is often lacking in ancient biographies. In the author’s words, this is a ‘rollicking good story’—and as such, you will not be disappointed.

If you love The Poison King...

Ad

Book cover of Tap Dancing on Everest: A Young Doctor's Unlikely Adventure

Tap Dancing on Everest by Mimi Zieman,

Tap Dancing on Everest, part coming-of-age memoir, part true-survival adventure story, is about a young medical student, the daughter of a Holocaust survivor raised in N.Y.C., who battles self-doubt to serve as the doctor—and only woman—on a remote Everest climb in Tibet.

The team attempts a new route up


Want books like The Poison King?

Our community of 12,000+ authors has personally recommended 100 books like The Poison King.

Browse books like The Poison King

Book cover of Poison for Breakfast
Book cover of Magic, Lies, and Deadly Pies
Book cover of Arsenic Under the Elms: Murder in Victorian New Haven

Share your top 3 reads of 2024!

And get a beautiful page showing off your 3 favorite reads.

2,008

readers submitted
so far, will you?

Ad

📚 If you like The Poison King, you might also like...

Book cover of Radical Friend: Amy Kirby Post and Her Activist Worlds

Radical Friend by Nancy A. Hewitt,

Radical Friend highlights the remarkable life of Amy Kirby Post, a nineteenth-century abolitionist and women's rights activist who created deep friendships across the color line to promote social justice. Her relationships with Frederick Douglass, Harriet Jacobs, Sojourner Truth, William C. Nell, and other Black activists from the 1840s to the


Book cover of The Coaching Habit: Say Less, Ask More & Change the Way You Lead Forever

The Coaching Habit by Michael Bungay Stanier,

The coaching book that's for all of us, not just coaches.

It's the best-selling book on coaching this century, with 15k+ online reviews. Brené Brown calls it "a classic". Dan Pink said it was "essential".

It is practical, funny, and short, and "unweirds" coaching. Whether you're a parent, a teacher,


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in Rome, the Mediterranean, and Alexander the Great?

Rome 339 books