Augustus Returns Gossip must have been at fever pitch in Rome in 27BC, the year Augustus’ reign is generally held to have started. Whenever somebody new takes over, there is always a lot of speculation ahead of their arrival. But there can’t have been many situations where quite so many people had quite so little

I am now actively working on this project again. The easy bit has been rereading the book – I am half way through volume 3 and enjoying it immensely. My current ambition is to record a 10-15 minute podcast for every chapter, which taken together would give a feel for what the book is about.