Britain and Rome: Caesar to Claudius: The Exposure of a Renaissance Fraud

This is a bold reassessment of one of the pivotal points in British history. PJ O’Gorman analyses the sources for the period from Julius Caesar’s first forays into these islands to the invasion under the Emperor Claudius and the conclusions he reaches are nothing short of radical and call into question much of the accepted narrative of Roman invasion and conquest.

The author starts by showing that Caesar’s initial cross-Channel adventures were motivated not so much by seeking the glory of taming primitive savages but to gain control of an economic powerhouse. His treatment of the period leading up to the Claudian invasion and the invasion itself is even more shocking. Most significantly he argues convincingly that two of the most important Roman sources underpinning the conventional narrative are in fact Renaissance fakes and that their acceptance has distorted the interpretation of modern archaeological evidence. Meanwhile he reinstates a discounted British source. The result is a startlingly different version of Britain’s early history.

PJ O’Gorman enjoyed many years in his family bloodstock business – buying, training and rehabilitating racehorses in Newmarket, before indulging his true vocation: History. P J demonstrated his aptitude for both researching and writing when he received a First-Class honors degree in History and won acclamation for his dissertation on the causation of Caesar’s invasions of Britain – the inception of this current work. PJ is married to Rebecca, with whom he has six children.