SPQR: A Roman Miscellany

by Anthony Everitt

A moreishly entertaining and richly informative miscellany of facts about Rome and the Roman world.

Do you know to what use the Romans put the excrement of the kingfisher? Or why a dinner party invitation from the emperor Domitian was such a terrifying prospect? Or why Roman women smelt so odd?

The answers to these questions can be found in SPQR, a compendium of extraordinary facts and anecdotes about ancient Rome and its Empire. Its 500-odd entries range across every area of Roman life and society, from the Empress Livia's cure for tonsillitis to the most reliable Roman methods of contraception.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Roman, Roman History, Ancient History

288 pages, ebook

First published September 11, 2014

About the author

Anthony Everitt is a British academic. He studied English literature at the University of Cambridge. He publishes regularly in The Guardian and The Financial Times. He worked in literature and visual arts. He was Secretary-General of the Arts Council of Great Britain. He is a visiting professor in the performing and visual arts at Nottingham Trent University. Everitt is a companion of the Liverpool Institute of Performing Arts and an Honorary Fellow of the Dartington College of Arts. Everitt has written books about Roman history, amongst which biographies of Augustus, Hadrian and Cicero and a book on The Rise of Rome. He lives in Wivenhoe near Colchester.

Reviews

[Galina · Rating 5 out of 5]

10 stars out of 5

Witty, insightful, eclectic, flowing and perfectly balanced in terms of entertaining storytelling and presenting facts. The book has all the possible merits of a good read, on top of being written on such a fascinating subject!

[Raimondo Lagioia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Highly captivating and thorough introduction to Ancient Rome.

[Christopher · Rating 5 out of 5]

SPQR: A Roman Miscellany is great dip into a broad range of Roman topics with a sense of humour running through that you can see reflected in past events and really shows how many things in society have not changed! :D The book has a structure that works very well covering aspects of Roam Society and Wars that keep everything flowing neatly together with rational explanations for events and insights into the characters involved! :D At the same time SPQR: A Roman Miscellany can serve as great introduction to basic Roman history and the events taking place that is accessible and provides interesting insights into event at the time! :D Brilliant and highly recommended! :D

[K. · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.75 stars, including my scholarly notes:

SPQR is broken up by topics rather than chronology, which made it easy to pick up and put down as I had time, but also impeded my ability to create a coherent image of when things where happening. The Roman Empire was around for a long ass time, my dudes. Everitt does also provide an abbreviated timeline at the end, but ain't nobody got time for flip-flopping back and forth.

[John Matthew IV · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a fun read with the same title as the last book I read. Mary Beard's SPQR is a proper history book. This is a bunch of little essays. None of them more than two pages and most much less. It covers all aspects of Ancient Rome.

There's no maps nor illustrations but lots well written prose. Everitt is focused on the facts and dispelling myths.

[Tom Bennett · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good - chopped up into short sections that can be dipped into. Little bit light and gossipy in style, but nonetheless a useful resource.

[Kristen · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 and a half stars.

I think this was a great overview of Roman society.

[Chandy John]

Not what you'd expect from Everitt who's generally eminently readable. SPQR is just a collection of random trivia. More like a coffee table book.

[Sean · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and witty, it’s an interesting take on an ancient civilization that still has tremendous influence today.

[Dan Vine · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very readable and informative overview of Roman history with colourful anecdotes. It is clearly designed to be dipped into but I quickly tired of the references to other sections of the book and decided to start at the beginning and read through. This was altogether more profitable but slightly annoying since most, but not all of the footnotes are those references to other sections.

[Daniel Sandsveden · Rating 3 out of 5]

Easy to read with some interesting histories. Unfortunately many of the stories felt like common knowledge. May be a better fit for someone rather new to roman history.

[Jiazi Du · Rating 5 out of 5]

The best history book I read so far in 2016

[Donald Schopflocher · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short entertaining tidbits from Roman history and everyday life.

[Pedication · Rating 3 out of 5]

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