Rome, Matthew Kneale
Rome, Matthew Kneale
8 Rating(s)
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Rome
A History in Seven Sackings

Author: Matthew Kneale

Narrator: Neil Gardner

Unabridged: 12 hr 41 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 05/15/2018


Synopsis

“This magnificent love letter to Rome” (Stephen Greenblatt) tells the story of the Eternal City through pivotal moments that defined its history—from the early Roman Republic through the Renaissance and the Reformation to the German occupation in World War Two—“an erudite history that reads like a page-turner” (Maria Semple).

Rome, the Eternal City. It is a hugely popular tourist destination with a rich history, famed for such sites as the Colosseum, the Forum, the Pantheon, St. Peter’s, and the Vatican. In no other city is history as present as it is in Rome. Today visitors can stand on bridges that Julius Caesar and Cicero crossed; walk around temples in the footsteps of emperors; visit churches from the earliest days of Christianity.

This is all the more remarkable considering what the city has endured over the centuries. It has been ravaged by fires, floods, earthquakes, and—most of all—by roving armies. These have invaded repeatedly, from ancient times to as recently as 1943. Many times Romans have shrugged off catastrophe and remade their city anew.

“Matthew Kneale [is] one step ahead of most other Roman chroniclers” (The New York Times Book Review). He paints portraits of the city before seven pivotal assaults, describing what it looked like, felt like, smelled like and how Romans, both rich and poor, lived their everyday lives. He shows how the attacks transformed Rome—sometimes for the better. With drama and humor he brings to life the city of Augustus, of Michelangelo and Bernini, of Garibaldi and Mussolini, and of popes both saintly and very worldly. Rome is “exciting…gripping…a slow roller-coaster ride through the fortunes of a place deeply entangled in its past” (The Wall Street Journal).

About Matthew Kneale

Matthew Kneale was born in London in 1960, the son and grandson of writers. He studied modern history at Magdalen College, Oxford. He has written five novels, including English Passengers, which was shortlisted for the Booker Prize and won the Whitbread Book of the Year Award, and two nonfiction books. For the last fifteen years he has lived in Rome with his wife and two children. Visit him at MatthewKneale.net. 


Reviews

Goodreads review by Carlos on August 16, 2018

I’m so glad to have read this book, it was an amazing chronicle of all the historical centuries the city of Rome has gone through, in it you will find a little about Gauls, Murderous emperors, bloodthirsty barbarians, corrupt Popes, famous architects and artists , learn a little about the church sch......more

Goodreads review by Liviu on September 25, 2020

A love letter to Rome in 7 sieges though the moments in the 2500+ year history of the city they present are much more than the actual siege, but they comprise of a prelude with how the city changed from the previous moment and an epilogue with what happened next The 7 epochal moments are alos very we......more

Goodreads review by Athan on June 02, 2018

Author Matthew Kneale serves as a truly enthusiastic guide through the history of his adopted home city, Rome. With three thousand years to take you through, he faces an important problem: he needs to “choose his battles;” he truly stands no hope of both telling the whole history and keeping your in......more

Goodreads review by Brian on May 21, 2022

Mathew Kneale is primarily a novelist and he uses his narrative skills to great effect when recounting the story of Rome from the attack on the Capitoline hill by Brennus and his Gauls, famously forestalled by the alarm cries of sacred geese, right up to the Nazi takeover after the flight of Mussoli......more

Goodreads review by George on November 11, 2018

Meh. Seemed like an interesting concept, tracing the history of the city in the context of its occupations by invading forces. Sort of Michenerian in scope, ranging from 250 BCE to 1945, but, the execution was lacking. Kneale tries to convey what life was like in Rome at each of these eras (there ar......more