The author, Mary Beard, is a classicist and the UK's top Roman scholar. She's also the author of the critically acclaimed SPQR: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/

The author, Mary Beard, is a classicist and the UK's top Roman scholar. She's also the author of the critically acclaimed SPQR: https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/books/review-in-spqr-a-history-of-ancient-rome-mary-beard-tackles-myths-and-more.html https://www.nytimes.com/2015/11/18/books/review-in-spqr-a-hi...