cover image The Real Lives of Roman Britain: A History of Roman Britain through the Lives of Those Who Were There

The Real Lives of Roman Britain: A History of Roman Britain through the Lives of Those Who Were There

Guy de la Bedoyere. Yale Univ., $40 (264p) ISBN 978-0-300-20719-4

In this alternately fascinating and wearisome chronicle of Roman-occupied Britain, historian de la B%C3%A9doy%C3%A8re (Roman Britain: A New History) offers a new angle on the period, revealing the ways that ordinary people%E2%80%94not just emperors and their kin%E2%80%94lived in these days. From 55 B.C.E. to 410 C.E., Rome ruled the majority of the island of Great Britain, bringing with it Roman styles of government, religion, and culture. To uncover Rome's influence on the lives of these individuals, de la B%C3%A9doy%C3%A8re examines such figures as the Romano-British poet Silvius Bonus; the Aldgate-Pulborough Potter, known only because of his production of Samian pottery; and several persons who left public records of their existence as Britons through various acts of tribute, such as making a dedication to a god or goddess at a local shrine. De la B%C3%A9doy%C3%A8re ranges widely over various elements of culture in Roman Britain, addressing religion, death, and architecture%E2%80%94such as the making and ownership of villas%E2%80%94as well as the eventual demise of the Roman Empire, which enabled Britain to stand outside the shadow of Rome by the early fifth century C.E. Those interested in the sometimes repetitive minutiae of Rome or Britain's history should find this volume worthwhile. (July)