The Ides of March

The Ides of March

by Thornton Wilder

Part of Penguin Modern Classics

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About
*The Ides of March*, first published in 1948, is a brilliant epistolary novel set in Julius Caesar's Rome. Thornton Wilder called it "a fantasia on certain events and persons of the last days of the Roman republic." Through vividly imagined letters and documents, Wilder brings to life a dramatic period of world history and one of history's most magnetic, elusive personalities. In this inventive narrative, the Caesar of history becomes Caesar the human being. Wilder also resurrects the controversial figures surrounding Caesar -- Cleopatra, Catullus, Cicero, and others. All Rome comes crowding through these pages -- the Rome of villas and slums, beautiful women and brawling youths, spies and assassins.

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  1. 1

    How does Wilder's choice to tell this story through an epistolary format—letters, police reports, and journal entries—change your perception of historical figures compared to traditional third-person narrative history?

  2. 2

    Julius Caesar is presented here as both a ruthless politician and a deeply philosophical, lonely man; which aspect of his character felt most surprising or resonant to you?

  3. 3

    Wilder explores the heavy burden of absolute power and the way it isolates leaders from genuine human connection; in your own life or observations, how do you see power changing the way people relate to others?

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