"The Burning of Rome" by Alfred J. Church tells about the relations between the first Christians and the Roman government during the times of Nero. This book is being praised for being objective and free from cultural bias, which was inherent to some other books from the same period.

"Nero became Emperor in A.D 54. On the evening of July 18, 64 A. D., it seems that a lamp was left unextinguished in a stall still heaped with piles of combustible material. Whether this was accidental or deliberate we cannot now determine, and normally it would not have led to anything that would have attracted even local attention. But there was a gusty wind that night, and the flickering flame was fanned onto the flammable wares. The ensuing fire quickly spread. Before the onlookers could absorb what was happening one of the most catastrophic disasters ever to be endured by Rome was already underway. It was a disaster that brought death and misery to thousands. In Nero and the Great Fire of Rome, Anthony Barrett draws on new textual interpretations and the latest archaeological evidence, to tell the story of this pivotal moment in Rome's history and its lasting significance. Barrett argues that the Great Fire, which destroyed much of the city, changed the course of Roman History. The fire led to the collapse of Nero's regime, and his disorderly exit brought an end to Rome's first imperial dynasty, transforming from thereto, the way that emperors were selected. It also led to the first systematic persecution of the Christians, who were blamed for the blaze. Barrett provides the first comprehensive study of this dramatic event, which remains a fascination of the public imagination, and continues to be a persistent theme in the art and literature of popular culture today"--

A lively and accessible guide to the rich literary, philosophical and artistic achievements of the notorious age of Nero.

Rev. Alfred Church presents a vivid and moving novel about the times of the Roman emperor Nero, the life of the first Christians in Rome and the tragic fate of martyrs during the first great persecution of the Church of Christ.

Excerpt from The Burning of Rome: Or a Story of the Days of Nero IN this tale I have closely followed the lines of Tacitus's narrative, though I have idealized the char acter of Epicharis. Claudia, the British Princess, on whose marriage with a certain Pudens Martial writes an epigram, may, perhaps, be identified with the Claudia whose salutation St. Paul conveys in his Second Epistle to Timothy. I should have been glad to identify her husband with the Pudens whose name stands so near to hers, but the difficulty of. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.