by Raoul McLaughlin.
Hardback (6.5×9.5 inches). 270 pages. 2026.
Subtitle: AD 60 to 500
This sequel continues translations from 500BC to 60AD with excerpts of ancient writings about Britain and Ireland from Roman and Greek sources circa 60AD to a nice even 500 AD. All the greats are here, including Tacitus, Cassius Dio, Suetonius, Ammianus Marcellinus, and Procopius as well as a fair number of more obscure writers. A number of inscriptions are also included.
While it makes sense, I had little idea of the Roman merchants who traded in present-day Ireland or of efforts to bring Ireland into the Roman Empire. Campaigns against the Celts and Picts of Scotland are covered, but Ireland? True, not much is mentioned, and some sources are poetry from old Irish writings, but that they’re mentioned at all deserves kudos.
The book contains four black and white maps, 30 color photos of 15 coins (obverse and reverse), four black and white photos, 13 color photos, and three black and white illustrations.
Obviously, excerpts won’t tell the entire 440-year history, but their selection and McLaughlin’s explanations of context offer an overview of perceptions about Britain and Ireland at the time of the Roman Empire. Over the decades, I’ve collected a number of full translations that are now collecting dust, but this book offers a pleasant little jog of the memory.
Enjoyed it.
— Reviewed by Russ Lockwood
