Oneworld snares Sidebottom's account of Rome's worst emperor

Oneworld has acquired The Mad Emperor: Heliogabalus and the Decadence of Rome by Dr Harry Sidebottom, author of the Warrior of Rome series.

Sam Carter bought world English rights from James Gill at United Agents. The non-fiction book will publish in October. 

The Mad Emperor charts the life and times of Heliogabalus – a 14-year-old boy reviled as the worst emperor that Rome ever had. “Ousting Jupiter from his throne and replacing him with his own Syrian deity Elagabal, humiliating prestigious senators and marrying vestal virgins, Heliogabalus outraged and scandalised the Romans for four years,” the synopsis explains. “Harry Sidebottom unveils the high drama of sex, religion, power and culture in Ancient Rome as we’ve never seen it before.”

Carter said: “Harry’s a master of bringing us to the scene, and he revels in the strange times that ensue when you put a teenage boy in charge of a mighty empire.”

Sidebottom teaches ancient history at Lincoln College, Oxford. Since publication of Fire in the East (Penguin) in 2008, he has written and published a novel each year. His Warrior of Rome series has been published in 14 countries. He is also the editor of the Encyclopedia of Ancient Battles (Wiley Blackwell).

“I am delighted that The Mad Emperor is being published by Oneworld, who have an outstanding record in bringing serious books to the widest possible readership,” he said.