Roman religion was a very definite 'contract' with the Gods, offering devotion and the blood sacrifices which 'fed' and nourished the gods, in exchange for their continued protection and for Rome’s security and prestige. This 'contract' was a very real expectation that the gods were alive and aware, and that in return for the regular nourishment of human worship they could, and would, honour their part of the bargain. If this bargain was not honoured, then its nullity could bring disaster. This was best shown by the utter astonishment in Rome at the news of the defeat at Cannae in 216 BC. Surely the gods were unhappy - and two Vestal Virgins were chosen to be buried alive to appease them! The original gods and goddesses would be joined, but not superseded, by the importation of Greek gods, who with their names changed, but with their anthropomorphic characteristics intact, also served Rome and gave her their support. There would eventually be others, foreign gods from the East, bringing new ideas to Rome, along with outlandish and curious ceremonies, weird and wonderful gods like nothing ever before seen, requiring initiations, sacrifices and rituals of their own, performed by equally unusual priests, some of them celibate, who would add to the already replete Roman priesthood, with its many Flamens, Pontifices, Augurs and Haruspices, but bringing even a tantalising whiff of magic. All of these would eventually become accepted, by all classes of society. With chapters on the Numina, emperor worship, the festivals and magic, 'Gods of Rome' presents this complex but fascinating subject for the non-specialist reader.

According to legend, Rome was a settlement of warlike young men, from Alba, an area in the Alban Hills just southeast of Rome. When they settled there, they inaugurated the earliest of Rome’s traditions, including the relationship between men and women. Any woman who lapsed from the required level of ‘spectacular’ virtue was fiercely punished, and the failings of women would often be the centre of Rome’s legends, such as the battle between the Horatii in Rome and the Curiattii in Alba in the seventh century BC. Women of Ancient Rome describes how early austerities gradually eased, yet retained the authority of the Paterfamilias in family life, also how the differing classes reacted to each other, exploring religion and ‘outsiders’ such as soldiers’ wives, slaves, prostitutes and how the poor coped with a world giving them few personal choices. With chapters on family and the importance of stoicism over affection, marriage and motherhood, priestesses, slaves and prostitutes, old age and death, Lynda Telford analyses the struggle for survival of women from all classes under one of the oldest codified patriarchal systems devised.

Lucius Cornelius Sulla is one of the central figures of the late Roman Republic. Indeed, he is often considered a major catalyst in the death of the republican system. the ambitious general whose feud with a rival (Marius) led to his marching on Rome with an army at his back, leading to civil war and the terrible internecine bloodletting of the proscriptions. In these things, and in his appropriation of the title of dictator with absolute power, he set a dangerous precedent to be followed by Julius Caesar a generation later. Lynda Telford believes Sulla's portrayal as a monstrous, brutal tyrant is unjustified. While accepting that he was responsible for much bloodshed, she contends that he was no more brutal than many of his contemporaries who have received a kinder press. Moreover, even his harshest measures were motivated not by selfish ambition but by genuine desire to do what he believed best for Rome. The author believes the bias of the surviving sources, and modern biographers, has exaggerated the ill-feeling towards Sulla in his lifetime. After all, he voluntarily laid aside dictatorial power and enjoyed a peaceful retirement without fear of assassination. The contrast to Caesar is obvious. Lynda Telford gives a long overdue reappraisal of this significant personality, considering such factors as the effect of his disfiguring illness. The portrait that emerges is a subtle and nuanced one; her Sulla is very much a human, not a monster.

In this sometimes controversial book, Lynda Telford explores the lives of women who have had personal and unofficial influence at the Vatican over the centuries. They may have coerced or otherwise influenced various popes into making decisions which affected papal rule. Against the background of the history of the papacy, when popes were expected to be celibate, the author identifies those popes whose love and admiration for women led to their giving them a voice, not only in their domestic arrangements but also in matters concerning the Church. The women discussed include Marozia, said to have been the mistress of Pope Sergius III, who appears to have taken a violent path to power; and Vanozza dei Catanei, who was the mistress of Alexander VI (Rodrigo Borgia) and bore him four children. Rodrigo was thought to have obtained the title of pope through simony and, although possessed of many engaging qualities, there was no denying his worldliness and determination to ignore the Church's rules on celibacy. He then took on a mistress, Giulia Farnese, who was able to use her influence to promote the cause of her brother, Alessandro Farnese, who would later become Pope Paul III. There were several notable and influential women through the 16th, 17th and 18th centuries, including Felice della Rovere, Catherine de Medici and Olimpia Pamphilj. The list also includes queens, such as Christina of Sweden, who abdicated and moved to Rome. Although the scandals abated in the nineteenth century, Mother Pascalina's close relationship with Pope Pius XII in the twentieth caused a great deal of speculation. Engaging, controversial and sometimes illuminating, this is ultimately an exploration of the Catholic Church's sometimes fraught relationship with women.