Bibliograph

The histories, Tacitus ; translated by Kenneth Wellesley ; revised with a new introduction by Rhiannon Ash

Type

Label

The histories, Tacitus ; translated by Kenneth Wellesley ; revised with a new introduction by Rhiannon Ash

Language

eng

Bibliography note

Includes bibliographical references (pages xxxv-xli) and index

Illustrations

maps

Index

index present

Literary Form

non fiction

Main title

The histories

Nature of contents

bibliography

Oclc number

317747799

Responsibility statement

Tacitus ; translated by Kenneth Wellesley ; revised with a new introduction by Rhiannon Ash

Series statement

Penguin classics

Summary

"In AD 68 Nero's suicide marked the end of the first dynasty of imperial Rome. The following year was one of drama and danger. In the surviving books of his Histories the barrister-historian Tacitus, writing some thirty years after the events he describes, gives a detailed account of the 'long but single year' when four emperors emerged in succession: Galba, the martinet; Otho, conspirator and dandy; Vitellius, the unambitious hedonist; and the ultimate victor, Vespasian, who established the Flavian dynasty. With great vividness and emotional power, Tacitus' gripping narrative lays bare corruption, injustice and folly, and sheds lasting light on the nature of power. This revised version of Kenneth Wellesley's translation has sensitively updated it to render it more accessible to the modern reader. This edition contains a new introduction by Rhiannon Ash discussing Tacitus' life and his contemporary audience, a note on the text, further reading, a glossary of place and peoples, expanded notes and a chronology"--Page 4 of cover

Classification