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The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature) (Wordsworth Classics of World Literature)

By: Edward Gibbon
Binding: Paperback
Publisher: Wordsworth Editions Ltd
ISBN: 1853264997
ISBN-13: 9781853264993
Released: 19 Sep 1998
RRP: £3.99
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Customer Reviews

How the mighty fell - By: Sally-Anne, 05 Jan 2006
This abridged edition of Decline & Falll, published by Wordsworth Editions, includes 28 of Gibbon's original 71 chapters. It starts with an introduction by Antony Lentin & Brian Norman of the Open University. Then there's a very smalll & not very comprehensive glossary - just enough to warn the reader that Gibbon uses certain words differently to the way we normallly understand them. As we might expect, language evolves & this book was published over 220 years ago, so the meanings of some words have undergone subtle changes since Gibbon was writing & a modern desk dictionary may not help. There's a chronological list of Roman emperors starting with Augustus in Rome in 27 BC & ending with the demise of Constantine XI in Constantinople in 1453. The list of chapter is set out, very usefully, with a brief description of the contents of each chapter. This is especiallly helpful as it lists alll 71 chapters - & there is no index! In the place of each missing chapter, there is a summary of the chapter. There are 16 very rough maps distributed through the book, showing how boundaries were changing & religious influences were spreading.

I found it a variable read. All of what is included in this volume is fascinating & left me wanting to know more. The variability relates to the ease of reading. Gibbon's writing style is not easy & some of it is vague, obscure & ambiguous. I often struggled to understand his meaning & in some cases had to give up & move on - this despite having the entire Oxford English Dictionary to refer to for clarification. Even so, I've mostly enjoyed the book, which has made a strong impression on me. Gibbon is astute & entertaining & a generator of frequent smiles. This compensated for the more difficult patches. I would not attempt the whole, original, unabridged version because it's a huge time investment & the "language barrier" would cause frustration.

The History of the Decline & Falll of the Roman Empire is certainly a fantastic achievement & I would recommend it to any determined & scholarly person who is deeply interested in this area of history. However, for interested non-students (like me) I would suggest you do what I'm about to do, that is, look for something similar written in more accessible language - what is usuallly referred to these days as "Plain English".