Are 'what if' stories coming into fashion?

A recent post in The Economist magazine congratulated Francis Spufford whose Cahokia Jazz won this year’s long-form class of the Sidewise Awards for Alternate History. The Economist went on to state: “The what-if genre of fiction is growing fast, with work of startling quality and originality. [Cahokia Jazz is] A noir thriller that takes […]

Roman emperors – The good, the bad and ugly

Coins of Roman emperors

Hadrian is bearded – powerful in the spirit of the Greek god Hercules. Constantine the Great is clean shaven – a strong military leader. Vespasian is just Vespasian, Septimius Severus styles himself on his favourite god Serapis. (Author photo at the Yorkshire Museum)

At a rough count there were around a hundred Roman […]

Slaves, damnati and freedmen in ancient Rome

In 161 BC, the Roman jurist Gaius wrote: “Slavery is a human invention and not found in nature. Indeed, it was that other human invention, war, which provided the bulk of slaves, but they were also the bounty of piracy … or the product of breeding.” (Institutiones)

A cold, yet trenchant statement. As in many […]