‘Resourceful and multi-talented…her writing is stylish and lucid; and she is commendably unafraid to challenge orthodoxies’
– Prof. Edith Hall, The Times Literary Supplement
Jessica is a 30-year-old historian and award-winning academic of ancient Rome.
She is an Early Career Research Associate at the Institute of Classical Studies (School of Advanced Studies, University of London), the Shortland-Jones Rome Scholar at the British School at Rome, and a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society.
Her first academic book, A New History of Ancient Roman Theatre, was published by LUP in 2025, and her first trade history book, CIRCUS: When Tyranny Came to Ancient Rome, will be published by Bloomsbury in February 2027. She is currently working on a new edited volume for LUP, with the support of a BA/Leverhulme Small Research Grant, and a second book for Bloomsbury.
She is also currently working as a historical consultant with Mary Beard on Martin Scorsese’s latest film project, and her first documentary, Where Blood Runs, on the history of gladiators, will be out on Sky History at the end of 2027.
In 49BC, Caesar crossed the Rubicon and Rome fell into a brutal civil war. The institutions that gave its people a voice crumbled and, after the dust settled, Rome was forevermore ruled by emperors.
But Rome didn’t fall in a day. For centuries, its people had taken pride in the fact that they had overthrown their king and vowed that they would never have another. So why did the Romans give up their freedom? After the violent assassination of Caesar, why wasn’t the Republic restored? And why did those fighting for democracy lose the battle? Was it simply that, as the Roman poet Juvenal wrote, the people only cared about bread and circuses?
CIRCUS: When Tyranny Came to Ancient Rome
OUT 11th FEBRUARY 2027
‘Remarkable…In Circus, every detail and every action is reframed and reenergised and brought to new and vivid life’
MARTIN SCORSESE
‘The reader becomes chillingly aware: this is also about the present and the risk of failing democracies’
GABRIEL ZUCHTRIEGEL
‘Jessica Clarke’s the rising star of Roman history’
PROF PAUL CARTLEDGE
‘Colourful and animated’
PAUL CHRYSTAL
‘Expansive, erudite and intricately staged’
EMILY HAUSER
‘A tour de force…gives readers a chance to live and breathe each critical moment of Rome’s reorientation towards tyranny’
PROF MICHAEL SCOTT
‘Gripping theatrical extravaganza, grand political passion’
SIR PETER STOTHARD
‘Rich with detail and beautiful writing, Circus reminds us that Roman history is as relevant now as it ever was’
EMMA SOUTHON
‘Takes the reader on a fantastic voyage to the extravagant and convulsive world of Republican Rome’s final days’
KENT JONES
‘Ancient Rome emerges as a rowdy, unstable city in this hugely original book’
JOAN SMITH
‘Brings on of the most pivotal, heart-stopping eras of the Roman Empire to life with breathtaking clarity’
AMY BOYINGTON
‘Propulsive narrative brings this tumultuous period to life in vivid technicolour…unique and unforgettable.’
JANE DRAYCOTT