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A Day in the Life of a Gladiator
- Author
- Harry Sidebottom
- Narrator
- Justin Avoth
- Publisher
- Cornerstone
- Publish Date
- 11 June 2026
- Run Time
- 10 hours 59 minutes
- Format
- Audiobook
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What to expect
Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiator
Dressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life?
Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife.
Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure – beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after – A Day in the Life of a Gladiator gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.
'Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses'
The Times
'Grippingly original' Tom Holland, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dominion
'Thrilling... every page sizzles' Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen
'Fascinating' Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome
Previously published as Those Who Are About To Die
© Harry Sidebottom 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
Critics Review
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Magnificent… Was I not entertained? I absolutely was.
Dominic Sandbrook, Times Books of the Year
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Wonderfully panoramic … as an account of the games and the lives of the gladiators alone it is endlessly informative, rich with unexpected detail but never heavy to read.
Literary Review
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Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses.
The Times
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Vivid [and] gripping... a detailed chronicle of what a gladiator's life was actually like.
Economist
See more reviews See fewer reviews
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A grippingly original way of making the alien world of the Roman amphitheatre both accessible and comprehensible.
Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is History and Sunday Times bestselling author of Rubicon
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Harry Sidebottom manages to break out of a crowded field... a vivid portrayal of the mindscape that created these fighting entertainers.
Times Literary Supplement
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A most enjoyable book. Ingeniously, Sidebottom uses twenty-four hours in the life of a gladiator as a springboard for a fascinating exploration of Roman ways and the Roman mind.
Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of Rome: A History in Seven Sackings
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Prepare yourselves to enter the arena! Once again, Sidebottom brings the ancient world vividly and dazzlingly to life. A thrilling book... every page sizzles.
Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen: A History of Britain in 18 Young Lives
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Packed with wit, scholarship and gripping storytelling.
Aspects of History
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This book is two splendid things at once. It is the most readable and up-to-date scholarly account of the ancient Roman gladiatorial games, and it is also a fine introduction to Roman culture in general.
Ronald Hutton, author of Oliver Cromwell
User Reviews
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Details
- Author
- Harry Sidebottom
- Narrator
- Justin Avoth
- Duration
- 10 hours 59 minutes
- Release Date
- 11 June 2026
- ISBN
- 9781804963968
- Format
- Audiobook
- Publisher
- Cornerstone
- Genre
- Ancient history, European history, Social and cultural history, History of sport
Synopsis
Bestselling author Harry Sidebottom takes readers on a thrilling journey through a day in the life of the most iconic figure of the ancient world: the Roman gladiatorDressed in armour and clutching a bloody sword, the Roman gladiator is the most iconic figure of the ancient world. Both fascinating and repulsive to us now, he was in his own time a deeply controversial character, by turns hated and idealized – and always at the heart of Roman culture. But what did he really mean to the Romans? What did they see in the gladiator and the spectacle of the games? And what does he reveal to us today about the Roman way of life?Brilliantly written and meticulously researched, this book tells the stories of the gladiators and those who observed them – from grand emperors to lowly slaves – illuminating and analysing the all-consuming passion of the Roman Empire for the spectacle of mortal combat. In doing so, it reveals Roman ideas about everything from freedom and servitude to sex and desire, from courage and cowardice to death and the afterlife.Taking readers on an unforgettable twenty-four-hour adventure – beginning the night before the games and ending the evening after – A Day in the Life of a Gladiator gives a blow-by-blow account of what life was really like in the brutally unforgiving arena of the ancient world.'Blends extensive research with a talent for vivid storytelling to distil 700 years of gladiator history into the 24 hours around match day, from eve-of-fight rituals to stripping the corpses'The Times'Grippingly original' Tom Holland, Sunday Times bestselling author of Dominion'Thrilling... every page sizzles' Alice Loxton, Sunday Times bestselling author of Eighteen'Fascinating' Matthew Kneale, Sunday Times bestselling author of RomePreviously published as Those Who Are About To Die© Harry Sidebottom 2026 (P) Penguin Audio 2026
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