Peter Stothard Matthew Stadlen

Writer and former editor of The Times Sir Peter Stothard tells the story of the lesser known imperial clan of the Vitelli and uncovers some neglected truths about the lasting legacy of Rome.

Stothard looks back to 14CE when the power of the Forum of Rome was diminishing and power had shifted to Palatine Hill.  He describes the Vitelli as the least admired of Rome’s imperial clans. Publius is an old-fashioned soldier caught in the politics of the new age. Lucius is a skilled and sycophantic courtier. Aulus was a genial sluggard whose extravagance at the table carried him all the way to the throne before collapsing his family’s reputation for ever.

‘Lets us see how power really worked, in public and private . . . Stothard tells this story superbly’ Dominic Sandbrook Sunday Times

Stothard is a former editor of The Times and The Times Literary Supplement. His previous books include Alexandria and The Last Nights of Cleopatra. Here he talks to broadcaster and author Matthew Stadlen.