About this episode
James Naughtie interviews historian Tom Holland about his book Rubicon, exploring the Roman Republic's final decades.
Presented by James Naughtie, Bookclub speaks to the award-winning writer, historian, and podcaster, Tom Holland, about his book Rubicon, which looks at the triumph and tragedy of the Roman Republic. Originally published in 2003, the book won the PEN Hessell-Tiltman prize for non-fiction, and it unravels the myths and realities of ancient Rome as it charts the final decades of the Republic, placing us back in a pre-Christian era, and setting in context the convulsion that began in January of 49 BC when Julius Caesar crossed the Rubicon river in northern Italy en route to Rome and civil war, all in search of power. The episode was recorded at the Topping Bookshop in Edinburgh. Producer: Dominic Howell Editor: Gillian Wheelan This was a BBC Audio Scotland production.
People in this episode
Host: James Naughtie
Guest: Tom Holland
Topics covered
- Roman Republic
- historical analysis
- ancient Rome
- Tom Holland
- literature
- civil war
- historical fiction
Keywords
- Tom Holland
- Rubicon
- Roman Republic
- Julius Caesar
- historian
- BBC Radio 4
- civil war
- ancient Rome
- literature
- PEN Hessell-Tiltman prize
Mentioned in this episode
Organizations: BBC Radio 4, BBC Audio Scotland
Books & works: Rubicon
Places: Edinburgh
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