Hadrian, the great, but flawed, Roman Emperor, was a traveller, intellectual and patron of the arts. But he was also melancholy, volatile and involved with at least one sinister death which affected his personality and ability to rule. Elizabeth Speller tells the story of the most powerful man on earth in the second century against a background of his travels and intrigues, and the landscape and architecture of the time, much of which remains for today s travellers to marvel at. Although soundly based on original sources and archaeology, the book concentrates on Hadrian the man and the atmosphere of his turbulent times.