{"schema_version":"bf_book_companion_v1","release_id":"20261010T034321Z-reviewed-full-unique-works","book":{"amazon_purchase_url":"https://www.amazon.com/dp/0140455280?tag=bookfrontie00-20","asin":"0140455280","authors":["Procopius"],"book_id":"9780140455281","canonical_url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/the-secret-history-9780140455281","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140455281.jpg?v=4b328071b6658ef5","description":"A trusted member of the Byzantine establishment, Procopius was the Empire's official chronicler, and his History of the Wars of Justinian proclaimed the strength and wisdom of the Emperor's reign. Yet all the while the dutiful scribe was working on a very different—and dangerous—history to be published only once its author was safely in his grave. The Secret History portrays the 'great lawgiver' Justinian as a rampant king of corruption and tyranny, the Empress Theodora as a sorceress and whore, and the brilliant general Belisarius as the pliable dupe of his scheming wife Antonina. Magnificently hyperbolic and highly opinionated, The Secret History is a work of explosive energy, depicting holy Byzantium as a hell of murder and misrule. For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a global bookshelf of the best works throughout history and across genres and disciplines. Readers trust the series to provide authoritative texts enhanced by introductions and notes by distinguished scholars and contemporary authors, as well as up-to-date translations by award-winning translators.","forthcoming":false,"isbn13":"9780140455281","publication_date":"20071218","publisher":"Penguin Publishing Group","slug":"the-secret-history","subtitle":"","title":"The Secret History"},"discovery":{"categories":{"all":[{"bisac_code":"HIS002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient Rome","score":0.7768,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027220","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient Warfare","score":0.7675,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Medieval History","score":0.7531,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"hint":[{"bisac_code":"HIS002020","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient Rome","score":0.7768,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027220","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Ancient Warfare","score":0.7675,"source":"bisac_hint_model"},{"bisac_code":"HIS037010","confidence_band":"medium","label":"Medieval History","score":0.7531,"source":"bisac_hint_model"}],"publisher":[{"bisac_code":"HIS002000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Ancient History","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS027220","confidence_band":"high","label":"Ancient Warfare","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"},{"bisac_code":"HIS055000","confidence_band":"high","label":"Turkey & the Ottoman Era","score":1,"source":"onix_publisher_code"}]},"genres":[{"label":"Ancient Rome","score":0.7768,"slug":"ancient-rome"},{"label":"Ancient Warfare","score":0.7675,"slug":"ancient-warfare"},{"label":"Medieval History","score":0.7531,"slug":"medieval-history"}],"reader_fit":["Good for readers interested in Byzantine imperial power struggles","Readers drawn to sharply opinionated historical portrayals"],"related_lists":[],"series":null,"similar_books":[{"authors":["John Julius Norwich"],"book_id":"9780679772699","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780679772699.jpg?v=fe84dfe0629f59c2","score":0.745,"title":"A Short History of Byzantium","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780679772699"},{"authors":["Peter Heather"],"book_id":"9780197500538","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780197500538.jpg?v=2354ce8c28b339ee","score":0.7165,"title":"Rome Resurgent","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780197500538"},{"authors":["Donna Tartt"],"book_id":"9781400031702","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781400031702.jpg?v=9b7c11d4d2a4b2f4","score":0.7085,"title":"The Secret History","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781400031702"},{"authors":["David P. Womersley","Edward Gibbon"],"book_id":"9780140437645","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780140437645.jpg?v=3c4d22c73c6d2dac","score":0.6886,"title":"The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780140437645"},{"authors":["Pascal Hughes"],"book_id":"9781335001320","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781335001320.jpg?v=a61f110df0365800","score":0.6765,"title":"A Short History of Ancient Rome","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781335001320"},{"authors":["Lord Kinross"],"book_id":"9780688080938","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780688080938.jpg?v=84c8b7e4470923a9","score":0.6748,"title":"Ottoman Centuries","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780688080938"},{"authors":["Edward J. Watts"],"book_id":"9781541619814","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9781541619814.jpg?v=857ccba1bb30263c","score":0.6711,"title":"The Romans","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9781541619814"},{"authors":["Susan Wise Bauer"],"book_id":"9780393059755","cover_image_url":"https://img.bookfrontier.com/9780393059755.jpg?v=d03611ef2d984930","score":0.6652,"title":"The History of the Medieval World","url":"https://bookfrontier.com/books/9780393059755"}],"topics":[{"evidence_refs":["keyword:the secret history"],"label":"History","score":0.4536,"slug":"history"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:world history"],"label":"World","score":0.0848,"slug":"world"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:biography"],"label":"Biography","score":0.0744,"slug":"biography"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:military history"],"label":"Military","score":0.035,"slug":"military"},{"evidence_refs":["keyword:ancient history"],"label":"Ancient","score":0.0259,"slug":"ancient"}],"what_you_get":["Themes: Imperial corruption and tyranny, Court intrigue, Murder and misrule.","Themes: History, Biography, Military.","Reading lane: Ancient Rome and Ancient Warfare."]},"llm_signals":{"confidence":0.88,"pacing":"unknown","reader_fit":["Readers interested in Byzantine imperial power struggles","Readers drawn to sharply opinionated historical portrayals"],"themes":["Imperial corruption and tyranny","Court intrigue","Murder and misrule"],"tropes":[]},"source_presence":{"amazon":true,"book_detail":true,"goodreads":true,"llm_signals":true,"similarity_seed":true},"stats":{"amazon_ratings_count":290,"goodreads_ratings_count":3440,"goodreads_reviews_count":382,"quality_score":0.9503}}