Geraldine Doogue hears about a ‘stran ge cuckoo in the classical nest’

When Tom Holland was a boy, his two loves were dinosaurs and the Roman Empire

These days Tom Holland is an accomplished historian, and his latest book is an exploration of the history of Christianity. But as a child, he says, he was drawn more to Pontius Pilate – "with his eagles and his purple and everything" – than Jesus Christ.
"When I came to write history, my focus was absolutely on those childhood passions, the great empires, the kind of apex predators of antiquity," he tells Saturday Extra's Geraldine Doogue.
"But I found over the course of many years trying to get inside the minds of the Spartans or the Romans, that the civilisations that had seemed so glamorous, I began to find quite frightening.
"I began to think, what is it that explains the absolute chasm of difference – on almost every level – that exists between me and the world that I inhabit, and antiquity?"
For Holland, the answer is Christianity – and if you're looking for a big book to occupy your mind in isolation, then Dominion: The Making of the Western Mind could be one to track down.
In other literary news, Jess Hill's investigation into domestic violence in Australia has been awarded the Stella Prize.
She says it’s timely recognition, as domestic violence, like coronavirus, is a public health crisis that we can’t just leave to politicians alone.
And this month marks 50 years since the Beatles split up. The Music Show goes back to where it all started in Liverpool and Hamburg, with Beatles historian Mark Lewisohn.
Until next time,
Rosie Ryan, Digital Editor.

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