Audiobooks by Stephen Dando-Collins

Caesar Versus Pompey: Determining Rome’s Greatest General, Statesman & Nation-Builder

"Who was Rome's greatest general, statesman, and nation-builder: Caesar or Pompey? Few people have had as many words written about them down through the centuries as Julius Caesar—the brilliant general who made Queen Cleopatra of Egypt his mistress. He has captured the imagination of playwrights, historians, soldiers, and emperors. Little has been written about his ally, son-in-law, and eventual enemy Pompey the Great, who crashed onto the Roman scene as a victorious twenty-three-year-old general and who, at the height of his career, was arguably more famous, more popular, and more successful than Caesar. Caesar Versus Pompey tells the parallel life stories of Julius Caesar and Pompey the Great, as their lives and loves became intertwined and interdependent, as they grew from rivals to partners, then from joint rulers to warring foes. One strove to preserve the Roman Republic, the other destroyed it."

Stephen Dando-Collins (Author), Michael Page (Narrator)

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Seven Against Thebes: The Quest of the Original Magnificent Seven

"In the thirteenth century BC, a quarter of a century before the Trojan War, seven Greek warrior heroes went against the Greek city of Thebes to restore one of their number to the throne of his father, the famous King Oedipus. Several children of those seven heroes would later take part in the siege of Troy. This adventure was equal in the minds of Greeks and Romans with the siege of Troy as told in Homer’s epic The Iliad, an event which it predated by a generation. And while the story contains mythical elements, there are no factual, historical, or archaeological reasons to suggest that the military campaign did not take place much as described. Initially sung in verse and later committed to written form via histories, ancient poems, and plays, Seven Against Thebes is a historical narrative concerning one of the greatest military adventures of all time."

Stephen Dando-Collins (Author), Gildart Jackson (Narrator)

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Caligula: The Mad Emperor of Rome

"Explore all of the murder, madness and mayhem in Ancient Rome during the reign of the mad emperor, Caligula. In this book about Rome’s most infamous emperor, expert author, Stephen Dando-Collins chronicles all the palace intrigues and murders that led to Caligula becoming emperor, and details the horrors of his manic reign and the murderous consequences brought about at the hand of his sister Agrippina the Younger, his uncle Claudius and his nephew Nero. Skillfully researched, Dando-Collins puts the jigsaw pieces together to form an accurate picture of Caligula’s life and influences. Dando-Collins’ precise and thorough examination of the emperor’s life puts Caligula’s paranoid reign into perspective, examining the betrayals and deaths he experienced prior to his time in power and the onset of a near-fatal illness believed to have affected his mental-health."

Stephen Dando-Collins (Author), James Anderson Foster (Narrator)

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The Ides: Caesar’s Murder and the War for Rome

"Sixty killers, wearing the purple-trimmed togas of Roman senators, unsheathed their hidden daggers to stab the most feared and powerful man in the Empire. Hundreds of their colleagues ran screaming from the Theater of Pompey the Great, proclaiming the bloody deed to the thousands of citizens who clogged the streets outside. It was the most public of crimes. Yet, two millennia after the murder of Julius Caesar, many questions remain unanswered. Was Brutus a treasonous villain or a hero of Rome? Were the killers motivated by noble sentiment or venality? Why did so many of Caesar's formerly loyal lieutenants take part in the murder? InThe Ides, celebrated author and classical researcher Stephen Dando-Collins transports listeners to the streets, palaces, and gathering places of ancient Rome to experience a richly detailed, convincingly accurate, and stunningly suspenseful account of Caesar's final days. He traces the conspiracy that brought the conqueror down, from a surprising holiday meeting between Cassius and Brutus to its chaotic conclusion and beyond. Drawing deeply from ancient manuscripts, Dando-Collins documents Caesar's campaign to persuade the Senate, which had already declared him a 'living god,' to appoint him king of Rome before his planned departure on a military mission on March 19, 44 BC. He reveals why many Romans already considered Caesar a tyrant and why Brutus, who may well have been Caesar's illegitimate son, felt a special obligation to depose this man who would be king. This compelling history follows the mercurial Cassius and even-tempered Brutus as they carefully feel out potential coconspirators, knowing that one wrong choice could be their last. It reveals the dramatic lengths to which Brutus' wife Porcia went to prove he could trust her with his secret; why Caesar, even as the killers paced in restless anticipation of his arrival, canceled the Senate session he had called—and how a close associate convinced him to change his mind. Complete with a thoughtful analysis of why the plotters failed in their aim to restore the Republic and a chilling account of the deadly power struggles that continued for years after Caesar's death,The Idesis a must-have for anyone fascinated with the Roman Empire, military history, and an incredible story well told."

Stephen Dando-Collins (Author), Bronson Pinchot (Narrator)

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