When it comes to timing, Doyenne of Classics Mary Beard has done very well. The release of her new book, “Emperor of Rome: Ruling the Ancient World,” has coincided with the viral TikTok trend where women ask the men in their lives how often they think about the Roman Empire (it turns out, a lot).
At her book launch last night, Beard joked that her publisher had started the trend as a publicity stunt. “And they got away with it, no one suspects them!” she said. Beard also called for a “special toast” to the beleaguered British Museum, “because it needs it”. Later Beard told us that she reckons part of the Roman Empire’s appeal for men is the fantasy of being “a big, butch, posh white man in a military skirt.”
