 | Livia: First Lady of Imperial Rome Subjects: Livia Empress consort of Augustus Emperor of Rome ca. 58 B.C.–A.D. 29; Empresses -- Rome -- Biography; Rome -- History -- Augustus 30 B.C.–A.D. 14; The author of Rome Is Burning separates fact from fiction as he examines the life of an ancient Roman figure made famous in the TV miniseries I Claudius . Livia--wife of the first Roman emperor, Caesar Augustus, and mother of the second, Tiberius--wielded extraordinary power at the center of Roman politics. In this biography of Livia, the first in English, Anthony Barrett sets aside the portrait of a cunning and sinister schemer to reveal Livia as a complex figure whose enduring political influence helped shape Roman government long after her death. "An excellent biography of Livia--as appealing to the general reader as it is satisfying to the scholar." --Colin M. Wells, Trinity University, San Antonio "In reading Anthony Barrett's biography of Livia, I not only learned about this remarkable woman, but also gained a meaningful appreciation of life and society in her time." --Howard Alper, President, The Royal Society of Canada "First-rate." --Mary Beard, Times Literary SupplementAnthony A. Barrett, professor of classics at the University of British Columbia, is also the author of Caligula: The Corruption of Power and Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire, both published by Yale University Press. |
