Book description
Alan Baker weaves an extraordinary, vivid picture of Roman life as
his compelling and evocative history tells the story of Rome's most
notable gladiators. They were condemned and feared by emperors,
slaughtered and adored by the masses and worshipped by their female
fans, yet their lives were invariably violently short.
Whether their enemy was a starved tiger or a battle-hardened
criminal, their numbered days were dark and bloody. Yet men gave up
their wealth and freedom to become gladiators and noble-women gave up
their positions to be with them. The Gladiator illuminates the
extraordinary lives of Spartacus, Commodus, Eppia and others -
bringing the same energy and passion to the page that Ridley Scott's
cinematic triumph bough to the screen.
Alan Baker was born in Birmingham in 1964 and studied English at the
University of Reading.
