Betrayal of a Republic

Based on historical facts, Betrayal of a Republic: Memoirs of a Roman Matrona recounts the demise of the Roman Republic as seen through the eyes and reflections of Cornelia Africana, mother of the Gracchi brothers and a woman at the zenith of power and influence in the Republic. In her final years, an aging Cornelia looks back on her life and that of her sons who tried to save the Republic. The story is even more compelling for the parallels it offers with current superpower politics, the rise of strongmen, financial scandals, the shrinking of the middle class, and questions about the future of our democracy.Joost Douma studied classical Latin and Greek in high school and history and philosophy at the University of Amsterdam. He is the founder of the Dutch National Science Center, NeMo, in Amsterdam.