Edward Gibbon
THE DECLINE AND FALL
OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE
Read by
Philip Madoc with Neville Jason
Gibbon’s The Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire is one of
the greatest texts in the English language. In magisterial prose, Gibbon charts
the gradual collapse of the Roman rule from Augustus (23BC-AD14) to the first
of the Barbarian kings, Odoacer (476-490 AD). It is a remarkable account, with the extravagant corruption
and depravity of emperors such as Commodus, Caracalla and Elagabalus contrasted by the towering work of
Constantine, Julian and other remarkable men. It remains the standard work of
scholarship on the subject two hundred years after it was written; yet equally
important, in its sheer accessibility, it is an unforgettable story.
Philip Madoc's extensive theatre work includes the roles of
Othello and Iago, Faust and Macbeth and recently, with the RSC, The Duke in
Measure for Measure and Professor Raat in The Blue Angel. TV roles include
Lloyd George, Magua in The Last of the Mohicans, and the defence lawyer in
Brookside. He also stars in his own detective series, A Mind to Kill. He also
reads The Death of Arthur, The Canterbury Tales and The Arabian Nights for
Naxos AudioBooks.
Neville Jason also reads Proust’s Swann’s Way and Swann in
Love, Tolstoy’s War and Peace and Walpole’s The Castle of Otranto for Naxos
AudioBooks.
