Tom Holland to speak on the Julio-Claudian court

On Wednesday 10th February at 4.30 pm, historian Tom Holland will be speaking on:

‘Truth and Slander in the Julio-Claudian Court’

The lurid glamour of the Julio-Claudians has resulted in them becoming the very archetypes of feuding and murderous dynasts. No other period of history can compare for sheer unsettling fascination with its gallery of leading characters: Caligula, Agrippina, Nero. But are the stories told about them actually true? And why the particular animus that Roman historians seem to have had against powerful women?

Tom Holland is the well-known author of Rubicon, Persian Fire, In the Shadow of the Sword and, most recently, Dynasty: the Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar. He has adapted Homer, Herodotus, Thucydides and Virgil for BBC Radio. Rubicon was shortlisted for the Samuel Johnson Prize and won the Hessell-Tiltman Prize for History 2004, and Persian Fire won the Anglo-Hellenic League’s Runciman Award 2006.

The talk includes some sexual content and may not be suitable for younger pupils.

The talk is hosted by the St Paul’s Girls’ School Classics Society. Tea and cake will be served from 4.00 in the Dining Hall and the talk will be held in the Singing Hall. The event will finish between 5.30 and 6.00. There is no charge.

The address of the school is St Paul’s Girls’ School, Brook Green, London, W6 7BS; main telephone 020 7603 2288. The nearest tube is Hammersmith.

All are welcome, but if you or your pupils would like to attend, please email Gregory Wilsdon at gregory.wilsdon@spgs.org with expected numbers as soon as possible and at the latest by Monday 8th February.