'A masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman Empire' Sunday Times

'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' Observer

'A witty and skilful storyteller... He recounts with pleasure his racy tales of psychopathic cruelty, incest, paedophilia, matricide, fratricide, assassination and depravity' William Dalrymple, New Statesman

'A wonderful, surging narrative... [for] anyone interested in history, politics or human nature - and it has never been better told' Mail on Sunday

THE TOP TEN SUNDAY TIMES BESTSELLER

About the Author

Tom Holland is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster. His bestselling books include Rubicon: The Triumph and the Tragedy of the Roman Republic, which won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History and was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize; Persian Fire, which won the Anglo-Hellenic League's Runciman Award; Millennium: The End of the World and the Forging of Christendom; In the Shadow of the Sword: The Battle for Global Empire and the End of the Ancient World; Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar; and Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind.

Holland has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for the BBC. His translation of Herodotus was published in 2013 by Penguin Classics and followed in 2016 by a history of AEthelstan published under the Penguin Monarchs series, and in 2019 AEthelflaed England's Forgotten Founder as a Ladybird Expert Book. In 2007, he was the winner of the Classical Association prize, awarded to 'the individual who has done most to promote the study of the language, literature and civilisation of Ancient Greece and Rome'.

Holland hosts (with Dominic Sandbrook) the no.1 podcast The Rest is History. He has written and presented a number of TV documentaries for the BBC and Channel 4, on subjects ranging from religion to dinosaurs. He served two years as the Chair of the Society of Authors; as Chair of the PLR Advisory Committee and was on the committee of the Classical Association.

@holland_tom

Reviews
Holland's masterly account of this first wicked century of the Roman empire is, at its heart, a political analysis . . . 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 *
Deft 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' . . . Dynasty is both a formidable effort to compile what we can know about the ancient world and a sensational story * Observer *
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 * Mail on Sunday *
This is history in which fact and fiction overlap, rigorously researched and lightened with dashes of humour . . . first-rate ancient history and a compulsively good read * Daily Mail *
A 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 *
A witty and skilful storyteller . . . He recounts with pleasure his racy tales of psychopathic cruelty, incest, paedophilia, matricide, fratricide, assassination and depravity * New Statesman *
Brilliant, terrifying and compelling * Observer *
A thrilling book by one of the country's best popular historians . . . genuinely breathtaking * History Today *
Holland has crafted a history of early Rome that has all the gripping detail and narrative momentum of a novel... he gives the reader a startlingly visceral sense of the violence and brutality and wretched excess of ancient Rome -- Michiko Kakutani * New York Times *
[A] dramatic, intrigue-ridden, blood-and-guts tale of Rome's first line of emperors -- Peter Jones * The Times *
Dynasty, like its companion volume Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, 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 *
Holland writes with all the excitement and immediacy of the gossip-mongers of Rome . . . 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 *
A richly panoramic picture of Rome in the first century AD -- Allan Massie * Literary Review *
Holland's Tacitean vision of the dynasty of Augustus makes for a very compelling read * Times Literary Supplement *
Holland is at the top of his game, blending deep scholarly skill with real literary talent -- Dan Jones * Evening Standard *
Thrilling, thunderous prose, fully equal to that of the great days of Thermopylae and Salamis * Wall Street Journal *
Holland 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 *
This 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 *
A 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 *
Dynasty has Holland's usual novelistic ability to bring a narrative alive, together with his extraordinary command of ancient sources * New York Times Book Review *


Awards
Long-listed for PEN Hessell-Tiltman Prize 2016 (UK).



Book Information
ISBN 9780349123837
Author Tom Holland
Format Paperback
Page Count 544
Imprint Abacus
Publisher Little, Brown Book Group
Weight(grams) 455g
Dimensions(mm) 196mm * 131mm * 36mm