{"product_id":"harry-sidebottom-the-mad-emperor-2022-hardback","title":"Harry Sidebottom: The Mad Emperor [2022] hardback","description":"\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eWhat happens when you put the Roman Empire in the hands of a teenage boy? Discover the scandalous life and times of Rome's \u003cem\u003eworst \u003c\/em\u003eemperor. \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003e'Buy the book; it's very entertaining.' David Aaronovitch, \u003cem\u003eThe Times\u003c\/em\u003e \u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eOn 8 June 218 AD, a fourteen-year-old Syrian boy, egged on by his grandmother, led an army to battle in a Roman civil war. Against all expectations, he was victorious.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eVarius Avitus Bassianus, known to the modern world as Heliogabalus, was proclaimed emperor. The next four years were to be the strangest in the history of the empire.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003eHeliogabalus humiliated the prestigious Senators and threw extravagant dinner parties for lower-class friends. He ousted Jupiter from his summit among the gods and replaced him with Elagabal. He married a Vestal Virgin - \u003cem\u003etwice\u003c\/em\u003e. Rumours abounded that he was a prostitute. In the first biography of Heliogabalus in over half a century, Harry Sidebottom unveils the high drama of sex, religion, power and culture in Ancient Rome as we've never seen it before.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e*****\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eA \u003cem\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/em\u003e, \u003cem\u003eBBC History\u003c\/em\u003e and \u003cem\u003eSpectator \u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003cstrong\u003eBook of the Year\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Combining the pace of a novelist, the training of a scholar and the instincts of a true historian, this is a wonderful exploration of the Roman world under its strangest emperor.'\u003cstrong\u003e Adrian Goldsworthy, author of \u003cem\u003ePax Romana\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'The decadence, debauchery and sexual promiscuity that marked the adolescent's time on the imperial throne make for a rollicking read.' \u003cstrong\u003e\u003cem\u003eDaily Mail\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cp\u003e'Ancient history was never less dry than in Harry Sidebottom's superbly entertaining and always scholarly account of the reign of Heliogabalus... There is something for every reader: sex, politics, scandals and a compelling portrait of imperial society and culture.'\u003cem\u003e \u003cstrong\u003eFinancial Times\u003c\/strong\u003e\u003c\/em\u003e\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Sidebottom, Harry","offers":[{"title":"New","offer_id":50980251238739,"sku":"9780861542536","price":11.99,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0616\/4001\/6057\/files\/sidebottom-harry-harry-sidebottom-the-mad-emperor-2022-hardback-9780861542536-1166871766.jpg?v=1747251558","url":"https:\/\/theirishbookshop.live\/products\/harry-sidebottom-the-mad-emperor-2022-hardback","provider":"Chapters Bookstore","version":"1.0","type":"link"}