'Finally, a book that puts Herculaneum back on the map!' – Dr Daisy Dunn'What an extraordinary tour de force!' – Dr Sophie Hay'This is an absolute must-read…' – Dr Jessica VennerOn a beach near Naples in October 79 CE, more than 300 people stand on a beach, hoping for an evacuation that will never come. Vesuvius has erupted, and there is no time to escape. They will all be...

In AD 9 half of Rome's Western army was ambushed in a German forest and annihilated. Three legions, three cavalry units and six auxiliary regiments - some 25,000 men - were wiped out. It dealt a body blow to the empire's imperial pretensions and was Rome's greatest defeat. No other battle stopped the Roman empire dead in its tracks.Although one of the most significant and dramatic battles in European history, this is also one which has been largely overlooked. Draw...

The Last Roman is the only biography about Romulus Augustulus. It focuses on the personalities behind this powerful story and reveals the world into which Romulus was born - an empire that was about to die. Author Adrian Murdoch explores how Romulus's father Orestes, secretary to Attila the Hun, rose through the ranks to become kingmaker; how all was lost to another usurper in an Italy wracked with civil war; and how Romulus found peace at last, founding a monaste...