The Roads To Rome (Paperback)

Catherine Fletcher

ISBN 10: 1847928048 / ISBN 13: 9781847928047

Published by Vintage Publishing, London, 2024

About this Item

Paperback. Brimming with life and drama, this is the first book to explore two thousand years of European history through one of the most important imperial networks ever built'All roads lead to Rome.' It's a medieval proverb, but it's also true- today's European roads still follow the networks of the ancient empire, as Rome's extraordinary legacy continues to grip our imaginations.Over the two thousand years since they were first built, the roads have been walked by crusaders and pilgrims, liberators and dictators, but also by tourists and writers, refugees and artists. Catherine Fletcher shows how the roads - as channels of trade and travel, routes of conquest and creativity - forever transformed the cultures, and intertwined the fates, of a vast panoply of people across Europe and beyond.The Roads to Rome is a magnificent journey into a past that remains intimately connected to our present. Travelling from Scotland to Cadiz, from Istanbul to Rome, we meander and march through a series of nations and empires that have risen and fallen. Along the way, we encounter spies and bandits, scheming innkeepers, a Byzantine noblewoman on the run, young aristocrats on their Grand Tour, a conquering Napoleon, Keats and the Shelleys, the abolitionist Frederick Douglass, and even Mussolini on his motorbike.Reflecting on his own walk on the Appian Way, Charles Dickens observed that here is 'a history in every stone that strews the ground'. Based on outstanding original research, and brimming with life and drama, this is the first book to explore two thousand years of history through one of the greatest imperial networks ever built. Shipping may be from multiple locations in the US or from the UK, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9781847928047

Bibliographic Details

• Title: The Roads To Rome (Paperback)
• Publisher: Vintage Publishing, London
• Publication Date: 2024
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1847928048
• ISBN 13: 9781847928047
• Binding: Paperback
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Brimming with life and drama, this is the first book to explore two thousand years of European history through one the greatest imperial networks ever built

'A delightful, novel and authoritative history from the ground up' JUDITH HERRIN

'Epic and witty ... Fletcher is a thoroughly enjoyable narrator because she peppers her learned prose with wry humour' TOBIAS JONES, Observer

'Fletcher is a rare thing: an academic who writes beautifully and accessibly about big subjects ... utterly riveting, filled with golden nuggets' CHARLIE CONNELLY, New European

'All roads lead to Rome.' It's a medieval proverb, but it's also true: today's European roads still follow the networks of the ancient empire, as Rome’s extraordinary legacy continues to grip our imaginations.

Over the two thousand years since they were first built, the roads have been walked by crusaders and pilgrims, liberators and dictators, but also by tourists and writers, refugees and artists. As channels of trade and travel, and routes for conquest and creativity, Catherine Fletcher shows how the roads forever transformed the cultures, and intertwined the fates, of a vast panoply of people across Europe and beyond.

Reflecting on his own walk on the Appian Way, Charles Dickens observed that here is ‘a history in every stone that strews the ground.’ Based on outstanding original research, and brimming with life and drama, this is the first book to explore two thousand years of history through one of the greatest imperial networks ever built.

About the Author

Catherine Fletcher is a historian of Renaissance and early modern Europe and the author of several previous books, including most recently The Beauty and the Terror: An Alternative History of the Italian Renaissance, which was a Book of the Year (2020) in The Times. Catherine is Professor of History at Manchester Metropolitan University and broadcasts regularly for the BBC.