Gaius julius caesar s most popular book is the conquest of gaul. Most impressively, most of his accomplishments were achieved by using the power of his brain rather than his body. Julius caesar facts for kids from the kiddle encyclopaedia. Gaius julius caesar has 376 books on goodreads with 526 ratings. Renaissance writers disagreed over the assassination, seeing brutus, a leading conspirator, as either hero or villain. Any recommendation for books on julius caesar or rome. He shaped rome for generations, and his name became a synonym for emperor not only in rome but as far away as germany and russia. Its hard to comprehend all the things hes accomplished in his relatively short life. There is some evidence to show that he may have had tapeworms as well. He dodged proscription and pirates, changed the calendar and the army. Julius caesar dover thrift editions by shakespeare, william. In the introduction to his biography of the great roman emperor, adrian goldsworthy writes, caesar was at times many things, including a fugitive, prisoner, rising.
Online books about this author are available, as is a wikipedia article. Julius caesar is seen by many people as a very attractive figuremy own feeling is that he is actually much darker, verging on psychopathic. A member of the leading theatre group in london, the chamberlains men, which built the globe theatre and frequently performed in front of queen elizabeth i, shakespeare wrote 36 plays and much poetry besides. I have read deeply on this era, including some of the original sources plutarch is awesome. Julius caesar by william shakespeare, paperback barnes. Thy spirit walks abroad and turns our swords in our own proper entrails. More than two thousand years after his death, julius caesar remains one of the great figures of history.
Watch a bbc bitesize video about why caesar came to britain. Editions, dover thrift and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Not as thorough as goldsworthys book but very, very good still. Rather than enjoying a good book with a cup of tea in the afternoon, instead they cope with some infectious virus inside their computer. Good friends, sweet friends, dont let me stir you up to such a sudden mutiny. Gaius julius caesar books list of books by author gaius.
I dont know what private grudges they had that made them do it. His legacy was immortalized through the writing of william shakespeares play julius caesar, which centers. There is a good possibility that caesar had been infected with malaria and it had reached its advanced stages. Is julius caesar good or bad study guides and book summaries. Julius caesar as written by william shakespeare is the story of power and betrayal. It is also believed that caesar may have had epilepsy. The first major biography of julius caesar in decades, this volume offers an astonishingly intimate and complex. He changed the roman republic into a monarchy and laid the foundations of a truly mediterranean empire. Admittedly a womanizer himself, he dismissed his wife for suspicious behavior, wrote bad poetry and a third person account of the wars he waged, started a civil war, conquered the area of modern france, and made a stab at britain. A good biography should make every attempt to portray its subject as fairly as possible, and freemans presentation of julius caesar, the man, the general, the wouldbe rex struck the perfect balance. This is the case with brutus and cassius, the two leaders among the several conspirators. Even in his play julius caesar shakespeare mentions only one wife. Best baby shower books to gift for storytime snuggles.
Edited, introduced and annotated by cedric watts, research professor of english, university of sussex. What are the best and accurate historical fiction novels. Mark him and write his speeches in their books, alas, it cried give me some drink, titinius, as a sick girl. Even though julius caesar was assassinated, his time on this planet was probably coming to an end soon. The 12 best roman history books for the caesar in you reedsy. He benefited from the patronage of his uncle by marriage, caius marius. The story of julius caesar is set in ancient rome during a time when julius caesar is to become king. The play is one of tumultuous rivalry, of prophetic warningsbeware the ides of marchand of moving public oratory, friends, romans.
In rome, he was seen as a great leader and hero because of his efforts to create entertainment for rome, and having the ability to expand rome by nearly a third of its size. The tragedie of julius caesar, william shakespeare the tragedy of julius caesar is a tragedy by william shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1599. The bestselling writer conn iggulden recommends great books about julius caesar. Here are 12 of the best books on roman history one for each of the.
That way, hell waste his provisions and tire out his soldiers, weakening his own capacities, while we, lying still, are rested, energetic, and nimble. This is a question that historians have worked to answer for over 2,000 years. List of books and articles about julius caesar online. The assassination plot was led by gaius cassius longinus and marcus junius brutus. Retold in graphicnovel format, the epic tale of julius caesars rule over rome. The best books on ancient rome, as recommended by tom holland. Julius caesar can be seen as a good and bad person.
Mark antony drives the conspirators out of rome and fights them in a battle. For his life, stutonius 12 caesars covers him i believe. The education of julius caesar by david kahn is an excellent modern biography of this pivotal figure in human history. This short post is dedicated to those lesser known women who faced the trials and tribulations of being married to the man called julius caesar. It is one of several plays written by shakespeare based on true events from roman history, which also include coriolanus and antony and cleopatra. As in much literature, the worries of the day were dramatized using history as a model in this case shakespeare encapsulated the fears that queen elizabeth hadnt named a. Like his gallic war, julius caesars account of the civil war between himself and pompey has been called propaganda he does speak of himself in the third person after all, written intermittently by a very busy man engaged in many other affairs, to justify himself and his actions to. Julius caesar for children romans homework help caesar. Its also mildly interesting that many of the phrases from julius caesar that have become wellknown are rather meaningless out of context. Brutus and cassius, friends and supporters of julius caesar, brood and worry over his increasing ambitions. It is one of several plays written by shakespeare based on true events from roman history, such as coriolanus and antony and cleopatra set in rome in 44 bc, the play depicts the moral dilemma of brutus as he joins a conspiracy led by. Hed make a good study for one of those modern poppsychology books with titles like why good people do stupid things. Books by gaius julius caesar author of the conquest of gaul.
In shakespeares tragedy julius caesar, the use of diverse leaders plays an important role in the plot, showing vividly how strong personalities conflict. The portrait that it gives of caesar augustus in particular he was the greatnephew of julius caesar, his adopted son and the man who ranked as first of the emperors and who established an autocracy on the ruins of the republic is a very savage one and the reason for. Julius caesar is one of the most famous and influential war generals of all time. Theyre wise and honorable, and will no doubt give you reasons for it. I thought the gallic wars by julius caesar were good. Julius caesar was a general, politician and scholar who became dictator of ancient rome until he was assassinated in 44 b. What is the best biography of roman dictator julius caesar. Caesars pursuit of power leads the two men to worry that caesar will crown himself emperor, which would ruin romes republic of the people.
Julius caesar, one of four plays shakespeare set in ancient rome, was probably written in 1599 and also first performed in that year. Conn igguldens best books about julius caesar telegraph. In high school i chose julius caesar for my senior theme and although i am not a history buff in general the man and his times have a strange affect on my reading habits. Julius caesar crafted an alliance with marcus licinius crassus and pompey to form the first triumvirate and challenge the power of. Julius caesar study guide is available in our book collection an online access to it is set as public so you can download it instantly. Julius caesar was murdered in the roman senate house by a group of nobles on march 15, 44 bce. Julius caesar what are you gonna do rome history funny black cover notebook take note and drawing dotted grid paper for girls and kids to hand writing and drawing size 6x9x119 pages. Jealous conspirators convince caesars friend brutus to join their assassination plot against caesar. As i write, i note that two other quorans have named the rome the series from hbo, the masters of rome seri. Caesars death at the hands of friends and fellow politicians.
In this lesson, you will learn about the ways caesar was both a good and not so good. Shakespeares play julius caesar is a tragedy portraying the assassination of caesar and its aftermath. To be so good to caesar as to hear me, i shall beseech him to befriend himself. He is best known as the general who defeated the gauls and doubled the size. Gallic war, civil war, alexandrian war, african war, and spanish war landmark books by kurt a. Julius caesar by philip freeman goodreads share book. Julius caesar is among the best of shakespeares historical and political plays. Dealing with events surrounding the assassination of julius caesar in 44 b. Shakespeare may have written julius caesar as the first of his plays to be performed at the globe, in 1599.
Ill make a few suggestions, depending on the nature and degree of your interest. To stop caesar from gaining too much power, brutus and the conspirators kill him on the ides of march. Freeman should be thanked for the excellence, readability and accessibility of this wonderful work. In this striking tragedy of political conflict, shakespeare turns to the ancient roman world and to the famous assassination of julius caesar by his republican opponents. Rise to power although he was born into the julian gens, one of the oldest patrician families in rome, caesar was always a member of the democratic or popular party. Venturing into the world of caesar scholarship, youll notice that the historians have a difficult time remaining neutral on their title character. So much so that in the past 45 years i have collected 180 books, both novel and biography regarding caesar and the roman republic. Cinna and marius julius caesars uncle were powerful leaders of rome. Julius caesar and the life of william shakespeare by william shakespeare and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Life of a colossus by adrian goldsworthy, the gates of rome by conn iggulde.