The Reign of Nero

This extract from the Annals, written in the early second century, follows Nero from his accession after Claudius through the surviving later books. Tacitus records the young emperor under Seneca and Burrus, the poisoning of Britannicus, the murder of Agrippina, Nero's stage and chariot displays, the fire at Rome, the punishment of the Christians, and the Pisonian plot, which brings forced suicides among senators and writers. Parallel stretches cover Corbulo's Armenian war and Boudicca's rising in Britain. The account runs year by year and breaks off before Nero's death. It is a Roman political history of one principate, not a novel of the imperial household.

Bound in gold cloth with a frieze design. Normally no dust-jacket but some copies were issued in red dust-jacket. The Presentation Volume for 1952.