Book description
Although very little is known for certain about Pontius Pilate, the man
who crucified Christ, this has not stopped writers in every age from
imagining his life. In this extraordinary book, Ann Wroe recounts the
lives of all our Pilates; among them the glittering medieval tyrant,
devoted to gambling and getting around the law, and the wriggling modern
pragmatist, whose dilemma over Jesus has been described by Tony Blair as
'a timeless parable of political life'. This is also the story of the
man Pilate might have been; and the man who mirrors us. Ann Wroe shows
how, in his struggles with fate and free will, Pilate's story has also
become the story of ourselves. Ann Wroe is the Briefings and
Obituaries Editor of the
Economist
. After taking a degree in History and a doctorate in medieval history
(Oxford, 1975) she worked at the BBC World Service, covering French and
Italian politics. She joined the Economist
in 1976 to cover American politics, and has held the posts of Books and
Arts editor (1988-1992) and American editor (1992-2000). She has written
five other books: Lives, Lies and the Iran-Contra Affair
; A Fool and His Money: Life in a Partitioned Medieval Town
; Perkin: A Story of Deception
; Being Shelley: The Poet's Search for Himself
and Orpheus.
She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and the Royal Society of
Literature. She is married with three sons and lives in London.
