Livia, Empress of Rome: A Biography
Mar 10, 2011
Who can forget Livia, the scheming villainess of BBC TV/PBS Masterpiece Theater`s I, Claudius? Based on Robert Graves`bestselling novels I, Claudius and Claudius the God, Jack Pullman interpreted the author`s pastiche of Tacitus and Suetonius into entertaining television for a modern audience. Produced in 1976, remarkably, its influence still haunts students of the history of the early Roman Empire. Welsh actress Siân Phillips delightfully interpreted her role of Livia with her compelling and memorable performance. In a testament to the power of great acting and of mass media, the result is that in the popular imagination today, the wife of Augustus remains a role model for female wickedness, a Roman Lady Macbeth….
…read the full review of Livia, Empress of Rome: A Biography by Matthew Dennison
