A Day in the Life of a Gladiator

Magnificent… Was I not entertained? I absolutely was. * Dominic Sandbrook, Times Books of the Year *
Wonderfully panoramic … as an account of the games and the lives of the gladiators alone it is endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read. * Literary Review *
Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses. * The Times *
Vivid [and] gripping… a detailed chronicle of what a gladiator’s life was actually like. * Economist *
A grippingly original way of making the alien world of the Roman amphitheatre both accessible and comprehensible. * Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is History and Sunday Times bestselling author of Rubicon *
Harry Sidebottom manages to break out of a crowded field… a vivid portrayal of the mindscape that created these fighting entertainers. * Times Literary Supplement *
A most enjoyable book. Ingeniously, Sidebottom uses twenty-four hours in the life of a gladiator as a springboard for a fascinating exploration of Roman ways and the Roman mind. * Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings *
Prepare yourselves to enter the arena! Once again, Sidebottom brings the ancient world vividly and dazzlingly to life. A thrilling book… every page sizzles. * Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives *
Packed with wit, scholarship and gripping storytelling. * Aspects of History *
This book is two splendid things at once. It is the most readable and up-to-date scholarly account of the ancient Roman gladiatorial games, and it is also a fine introduction to Roman culture in general. * Ronald Hutton, author of Oliver Cromwell *

Harry Sidebottom teaches classical history at Oxford University and is the bestselling author of fifteen novels. His debut trade non-fiction book, The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome, was published in 2022 and was a Book of the Year in the Spectator, the Financial Times, and BBC History.

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