Ten Evenings

Mary Beard

“It is a dangerous myth that we are better historians than our predecessors. We are not.”

Mary Beard, SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome

In Emperor of Rome, celebrated classicist Mary Beard does not ask her reader to follow and retain the careers of each individual emperor; she seeks to explore broader questions such as what it meant to be a Roman emperor and whether we could ever truly understand what it felt like to rule the expansive territory and interact with subjects who led very different kinds of lives.

In her newest book, Mary Beard shines her spotlight on the emperors who ruled the Roman Empire, from Julius Caesar to Alexander Severus. She tracks down the emperor at home, at the races, on his travels, even on his way to heaven. She introduces his wives and lovers, rivals and slaves, court jesters and soldiers―and the ordinary people who pressed begging letters into his hands. Emperor of Rome goes directly to the heart of Roman fantasies about what it was to be Roman, offering an account of Roman history as it has never been presented before.

Mary Beard is a distinguished scholar of ancient Rome who shares her knowledge broadly on the BBC and in the classroom. She is the author of the best-selling The Fires of Vesuvius and the National Book Critics Circle Award–nominated Confronting the Classics and SPQR. A regular contributor to the New York Review of Books, Beard has an uncanny ability to make classical studies, ancient Roman history, and ancient Roman life highly intriguing and relevant for current times.

“Mary Beard is a fearless writer with the gift of writing the right book at the right moment, and I’ve been emboldened by her brilliant analysis of women’s voice and role in society since antiquity, Women & Power.”

THE GUARDIAN

Books

Pre-order Emperor of Rome from White Whale Bookstore, where you may also purchase additional titles by Mary Beard.

WHEN

Monday, October 23, 2023 at 7:30 p.m. ET

IN-PERSON TICKETS

Due to subscriber returns, in-person tickets to Ten Evenings may become available on a rolling basis.
If you’d like to purchase an in-person ticket or exchange your online ticket, please call our Box Office at 412.622.8866 during our hours of 10:00am – 4:00pm Monday -Thursday.

ONLINE TICKETS

Online tickets are $18
ONLINE INDIVIDUAL TICKETSONLINE SUBSCRIPTION
Online ticket holders will be emailed a link to view the livestream on the day of the event. All ticket holders will have access to the recorded program for one week, expiring after October 30, 2023.

WHERE

Carnegie Library Lecture Hall
4400 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, 15213

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