An important and useful work. MB doesn’t attempt to cover the fact that this book is not new work but an anthology of her previous books produced over the years. For all that it is well worth reading. For the Lay reader this work offers a clear view of this strange and violence and upheaval. The selection f essays that make up the book are written with the intellectual assurance and wit for which MB is well known. It is the perfect introduction to classical studies and I’m sure will soon become a standard work for students of this fascinating subject. Dr Peter Edds

I have to say, I do not agree with a previous 1 star review on this site. This book was a great introduction for me to the world of Classics and a good compilation of sources and literature for further reading. Mary is her usual self, debunking myths, questioning previous work and highlighting notable literature in history. Her writing, to me, is always enjoyable and light-hearted - none of the high-brow snooty hyperbole you sometimes get with other Classics reading. As someone who hopes that one day Classics will become once again more mainstream, Mary has attempted to affirm that this is indeed still possible and is not dead, as some persistently still question in the ongoing 'Classics debate'. I would view this more as a literature review but by no means a boring one - the book is designed to approach each area of Classics separately, taking the work already done and reviewing its use in understanding that particular part of history or its research. It was a highly enjoyable read for me and very informative in its approach.

I really enjoy Mary Beard's TV appearances both relating to the classics and to other subjects so I was quite disappointed with my first experience of reading one of her books. It may well be my own fault for not reading enough about the description of the book but I was looking forward to reading arguments for (and even possibly against) the study of the classics and their importance to our lives today but this was just a series of reviews of works by other authors. Admittedly, some of the reviews were interesting and Beard's forthright and humorous opinions shone through but I expected more. As I did like her writing style and I still enjoy her TV programs, I will try SPQR in the hope that it meets my expectations.

I had high hopes for this book. I anticipated the folksy and informative sort of thing that appealed to me with Mary Beard's television series. Instead I got to read a rehash of old reviews of as printed in the TLS over several years. The chapter in which a series of academic classicists are reviewed is dry and dull. There are no new insights, rather a series of references to the greats of history but nothing that puts them in any kind of new light. The book does not flow and each chapter simply examines how other classicist has viewed the subject in question. If the book had been marketed as series of reviews, I would have been less disappointed. But to tout this as providing some sort of insight into the giants of classical history where none exist is a failure of epic proportions.