Gareth Harney – författare

* A Financial Times Book of the Year * A Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday Summer Read *HOLD THE POWER AND GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND.'Fantastic ... expert storytelling' CONN IGGULDEN'Excellent' SUNDAY TIMES'Riveting and utterly original' MAIL ON SUNDAYA wild she-wolf tenderly nurses infant twins Romulus and Remus.Marcus Junius Brutus looks out over chaos and conflict, flaunting the bloodied daggers with which he murdered Julius Caesar. Trumpets blare, crowds roar, gladiators enter the grand Colosseum. Let the games begin.Frescoes fade and books vanish, but the story of Rome’s epic rise and fall survives in scenes struck in gold, silver and bronze. Told through the lives of twelve remarkable coins, this is ancient Rome as you’ve never seen it before.'Extremely enjoyable' EMMA SOUTHON'Wonderful ... there are riches aplenty in these pages' CHRISTOPHER HADLEY'Ingenious - filled with illuminating details' MATTHEW KNEALE'Fascinating, original and fun' FINANCIAL TIMES

* A Financial Times Book of the Year * A Sunday Times and Mail on Sunday Summer Read *HOLD THE POWER AND GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND.'Fantastic ... expert storytelling' CONN IGGULDEN'Excellent' SUNDAY TIMES'Riveting and utterly original' MAIL ON SUNDAYA wild she-wolf tenderly nurses infant twins Romulus and Remus.Marcus Junius Brutus looks out over chaos and conflict, flaunting the bloodied daggers with which he murdered Julius Caesar. Trumpets blare, crowds roar, gladiators enter the grand Colosseum. Let the games begin.Frescoes fade and books vanish, but the story of Rome’s epic rise and fall survives in scenes struck in gold, silver and bronze. Told through the lives of twelve remarkable coins, this is ancient Rome as you’ve never seen it before.'Extremely enjoyable' EMMA SOUTHON'Wonderful ... there are riches aplenty in these pages' CHRISTOPHER HADLEY'Ingenious - filled with illuminating details' MATTHEW KNEALE'Fascinating, original and fun' FINANCIAL TIMES

Brought to you by Penguin.HOLD THE POWER AND GLORY OF ANCIENT ROME IN THE PALM OF YOUR HAND.A wild she-wolf tenderly nurses infant twins Romulus and Remus.Marcus Junius Brutus looks out over chaos and conflict, flaunting the bloodied daggers with which he murdered Julius Caesar.Trumpets blare, crowds roar, gladiators enter the grand Colosseum. Let the games begin.Told through the lives of twelve remarkable coins, this is ancient Rome as you've never seen it before. Frescoes fade and books vanish, but the story of Rome's epic rise and fall survives in scenes struck in gold, silver and bronze.'Fantastic ... expert storytelling' CONN IGGULDEN'Excellent' SUNDAY TIMES'Riveting and utterly original' MAIL ON SUNDAY'Extremely enjoyable' EMMA SOUTHON'Wonderful ... there are riches aplenty in these pages' CHRISTOPHER HADLEY'Ingenious - filled with illuminating details' MATTHEW KNEALE'Fascinating, original and fun' FINANCIAL TIMES(c)2024 Gareth Harney (P)2024 Penguin Audio

Hold the glory—and infamy—of ancient Rome in the palm of your hand with this “brilliant combination of history and storytelling” (Conn Iggulden, author of the Emperor series) as it explores history’s greatest superpower, as told through humanity’s most universal object: the coin.When Gareth Harney was first given a Roman coin as a child, he became entranced by its beauty, and its unique ability to connect us with the past. He soon learned that the Romans saw coins as far more than just currency—these were metal canvases on which they immortalized their sacred gods, mighty emperors, towering monuments, and brutal battles of conquest. Revealed in those intricate designs struck in gold, silver, and bronze was the epic story of the Roman Empire. Now, with his “novel and highly readable” (Philip Matyszak, author of The Blood-Red Sunset) voice and engaging research, Harney traces ancient Rome’s rise, from a few huts on an Italian hilltop to an all-conquering empire spanning three continents, through the fascinating lives of twelve remarkable coins. A unique and enthralling “combination of history and expert storytelling” (Emma Southon, author of A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women) for all history buffs.

Vivid and pacy storytelling, blending insightful scholarship with evocative narration – for readers of Tom Holland, Mary Beard and Bettany Hughes.It was the Greeks who invented money as we know it, striking the first coins in the seventh century BC. Before long this innovative idea of a portable metallic store of wealth spread across the waves of the Mediterranean. But these coins were more than simple units of exchange; they quickly became artistic masterpieces crafted in gold and silver and endure today as some of the most important surviving examples of Ancient Greek art.More important, they advertised the power and virtues of each polis with patriotic fervour; for the empire of Greece was not a single entity but a rich mosaic of wholly distinct city-states spread across three continents. Yet for all their unique identities and rivalries, these states were bonded by their shared worship of a colourful gallery of gods, their devotion to art, literature and philosophy, and the courage and skill of their citizen-soldiers.In this thrilling adventure Gareth Harney introduces us to twelve fascinating coins that provide the perfect introduction to Ancient Greece. We witness the birth of democracy on a sacred hilltop overlooking the Acropolis, battle invading Persians in an existential war on land and at sea, take part in the bitter conflict between Athens and Sparta, and march alongside Alexander the Great as he carries Greek culture all the way to India.