What formula must I follow in order to leave a legacy? Should I be virtuous, ambitious, ruthless, or volatile? If I conquer vast portions of the globe, will my effigy grace the courtyards of the future, or will my colossal likeness become an ironic statement on my colossal insignificance? Whether I am born a Caesar—or a Jane Doe—at some point I will inevitably collide with the realization that control of my personal narrative will pass into other hands. The history of the world provides ample evidence that I will not have the final word. Many men who were household names in their day have faded into obscurity. Many others have lived their entire lives in the shadows only to become minor deities posthumously.
This blog is dedicated to examining the characters of those who refuse to disappear. It is also written as an homage to meticulous writing and exhaustive scholarly research. This blog is fueled as much by an interest in the endless permutations of human nature, as it is by a depthless admiration of the scholar’s ability to wade through thorny thickets of historical material. The subjects differ greatly—the quality of the writing does not.
Each week I aim to familiarize myself with a different historical celebrity. I will be the unassuming guest at an all-star dinner party—making silent observations between slurps of soup. Not all of the diners will be well-mannered. Some will be hot-headed pillagers of the ancient world, claiming descent from gods and emperors. Some will be intimidating in their goodness. Some will be survivors. I hope my reviews will draw other curious readers into the theatrical world I often inhabit. It is a frenzied, convoluted world in which real human beings loom large and impossible. A world in which the man-made walls between myth and reality, truth and rumor, reverence and damnation, are forever crumbling.
Why are some people remembered and others forgotten, and how can I protect myself against the latter fate? The subjects of these remarkable biographies each struggled with this fundamental insecurity—this fear of erasure. Relatively invisible as I am, I dangle over the same yawning abyss. Perhaps as I read I will recognize some common trait and experience a release of pressure. Or perhaps that is vanity speaking. For now, let us unfurl our glossy programs and light upon the first page.
Enter the Dramatis Personae.
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