A01=Paul Chrystal
Ancient Rome
aqueducts
Author_Paul Chrystal
Category=NHC
Category=NHDA
Cicero
Classical history
Colosseum
eq_bestseller
eq_history
eq_isMigrated=1
eq_nobargain
eq_non-fiction
forthcoming
human-centred history
Misogyny in the classical world
plebeians
Racism in antiquity
Roman civilization
Roman empire
Roman politics
Roman roads
Slavery
Product details
- ISBN 9781836392644
- Dimensions: 138 x 216mm
- Publication Date: 01 Oct 2026
- Publisher: Reaktion Books
- Publication City/Country: GB
- Product Form: Hardback
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The Romans loom large in the imagination, credited with roads, aqueducts, politics, plumbing and empire – yet these familiar achievements tell only part of the story. The Romans: A People’s History turns away from generals and emperors to focus instead on the millions of ordinary men and women whose voices rarely made it into history. Drawing on inscriptions, literature, household objects, mosaics and myth, it reveals how plebeian lives shaped the culture that still surrounds us: from food and labour to beliefs, entertainment, violence and political resistance. Not shying away from contentious subjects – misogyny, slavery, racism and the enjoyment of brutal spectacle – Paul Chrystal offers a rich, human-centred account of Roman civilization, suggesting that what ordinary Romans endured and achieved still echoes in how we live, argue and govern today.
Paul Chrystal is a contributor to a number of history and archaeology magazines and TV and radio programmes. His numerous publications include Miracula: Weird and Wonderful Stories of Ancient Greece and Rome (Reaktion, 2025).
