Adrian Goldsworthy

Adrian Keith Goldsworthy (/ˈɡoʊldzˌwɜːrði/; born 1969) is a British historian and novelist who specialises in ancient Roman history.

Adrian Goldsworthy
Goldsworthy in 2016
Born	Adrian Keith Goldsworthy 1969 (age 54–55)
Nationality	British
Alma mater	St John's College, Oxford
Website	http://www.adriangoldsworthy.com

Education

Adrian Goldsworthy attended Westbourne School, Penarth. He then read Ancient and Modern History at St John's College, Oxford,^[1] completing a D.Phil. in ancient military history from the University of Oxford in 1994. That dissertation laid the foundation of his first book, The Roman Army at War 100 BC – AD 200.

Career

Goldsworthy was appointed a Junior Research Fellow at Cardiff University for two years, taught briefly at King's College London and was an assistant professor on the University of Notre Dame's London programme for six years.^[2] His expertise is in Roman history, but he has also taught a course on the military history of the Second World War.

Goldsworthy has appeared on History Channel documentaries and the television game show Time Commanders,^[1] serving as an expert on battles being fought by the contestants, and he gave a speech about Roman history and politics to the cast of a 2010 Liverpool production of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra.

In 2010 Goldsworthy began writing a series of military novels - based not in Roman times but in the Napoleonic era and concentrating on Wellington's redcoat army, another period in which he has great interest.^[3] His first novel, True Soldier Gentlemen, was published by Weidenfeld & Nicolson in 2011 and was followed by Beat the Drums Slowly and Send Me Safely Back Again. The titles of each of his novels are taken from the lyrics of popular military songs of the period.^[4]

Asked about his philosophy of life, Goldsworthy responded that he was "English, so obviously do not have a philosophy. I am a Christian, though, if you want to know about important beliefs."^[5] Goldsworthy lives in South Wales.^[5]

Works

Goldsworthy has written several historical works on ancient Rome, especially the Roman army, and nine novels.

Nonfiction

• The Roman Army at War 100 BC – AD 200 (OUP, 1996)
• Roman Warfare (Cassell, 2000) ISBN 0-304-35265-9
• The Punic Wars (Cassell, 2000) ISBN 0-304-35967-X
  • Reprint title: The Fall of Carthage: The Punic Wars 265–146 BC, (Cassell, 2003) ISBN 978-0-304-36642-2
• Fields of Battle: Cannae (Orion, 2001) ISBN 0-304-35714-6^[6]
• Caesar's Civil War: 49–44 BC (2002), Osprey Publishing
• In the Name of Rome: The Men Who Won the Roman Empire (Orion, 2003) ISBN 0-7538-1789-6
• The Complete Roman Army (Thames & Hudson, 2003) ISBN 0-500-05124-0
• Caesar, Life of a Colossus, (Yale University Press, 2006) ISBN 0-300-12048-6^[7]
• The Fall of the West: The Slow Death of the Roman Superpower (Orion 2009)
  • U.S. title: How Rome Fell: Death of a Superpower, (Yale University Press, 2009) ISBN 0-300-13719-2
• Antony and Cleopatra (2010); Yale University Press
• Augustus: First Emperor of Rome, (Yale University Press, 2014) ISBN 0-300-17872-7
• Pax Romana. War, Peace and Conquest in the Roman World, (Orion Publishing Co, 2016) 528 p ISBN 0-297-86428-9^[1]
• Hadrian's Wall (Basic Books, 2018). ISBN 978-1-541-64442-7
• Philip and Alexander: Kings and Conquerors (Head of Zeus, 2020)
• The Eagle and the Lion: Rome, Persia and an Unwinnable Conflict (Head of Zeus, 2023) ISBN 978-1-838-93195-7
  • U.S. title: Rome and Persia: The Seven Hundred Year Rivalry, (Basic Books, 2023) ISBN 978-1-541-61996-8

Novels

• Napoleonic Wars Series
  • True Soldier Gentlemen (2011), (George Weidenfeld & Nicolson) ISBN 0-297-86035-6; his first novel^[8]
  • Beat the Drums Slowly (2011)
  • Send Me Safely Back Again (2012)
  • All in Scarlet Uniform (2013)
  • Run Them Ashore (2014)
  • Whose Business is to Die (2015)
• Roman Britain Series
  • Vindolanda (Head of Zeus, 2017) ISBN 9781784974701^[9]
  • The Encircling Sea (Head of Zeus, 2018) ISBN 9781784978167
  • Brigantia (Head of Zeus, 2019) ISBN 9781784978198
  • The Fort (Head of Zeus, 2021) ISBN 9781789545746
  • The City (Head of Zeus, 2022) ISBN 9781789545784
  • The Wall (Head of Zeus, 2023)

References

1. "Adrian Goldsworthy". Georgina Capel Associates. Archived from the original on 25 June 2022. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
2. "'End of the Roman Empire' begins MSU humanities speaker series". Mississippi State University. 10 June 2009. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
3. Adrian Goldsworthy. "Napoleon's comeback: from exile on Elba to the Hundred Days". History Extra. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
4. "Dr Adrian Goldsworthy - Fiction page". Retrieved 23 April 2016.
5. "Adrian Goldsworthy, author of Caesar: The Life of a Colossus, answers our questions". Orion Publishing Group. Archived from the original on 3 April 2015. Retrieved 13 January 2011.
6. Goldsworthy, Adrian (2001). Cannae. London: Cassell. ISBN 0-304-35714-6.
7. Josh Levithan. "Caesar, Life of a Colossus". Bryn Mawr Classical Review. Retrieved 25 August 2021.
8. Goldsworthy, Adrian (2011). True soldier gentlemen. London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson. ISBN 978-0-297-86035-8.
9. Goldsworthy, Adrian (2017). Vindolanda. London: Head of Zeus Ltd. ISBN 9781784974701.

External links

Adrian Goldsworthy at IMDb

• Adrian Goldsworthy's website
• Audio interview with Goldsworthy at National Review Online
• Audio podcast of talk in 2013 by Adrian Goldsworthy on Roman Warfare at The New York Military Affairs Symposium in NYC.