In the greatest work of history in the English language,
Edward Gibbon compresses thirteen turbulent centuries into a
gripping epic narrative. It is history in the grand
eighteenth-century manner, a well-researched drama charged with
insight, irony, and incisive character analysis. In elegant prose,
Gibbon presents both the broad pattern of events and the
significant revealing detail. He delves into religion, politics,
sexuality, and social mores with equal authority and aplomb. While
subsequent research revealed minor factual errors about the early
Empire, Gibbon's bold vision, witty de*ions of a vast cast of
characters, and readiness to display his own beliefs and prejudices
result in an astonishing work of history and literature, at once
powerfully intelligent and enormously entertaining.
Based on David Womersley's definitive three-volume Penguin
Classics edition of The Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire, this abridgement contains complete chapters from all
three volumes, linked by extended bridging passages, vividly
capture the style, the argument, and the architecture of the whole
work.