Country United Kingdom Publisher Canongate Pages 245 Genre Historical novel | Language English Publication date 1995 Originally published 1995 Page count 245 ISBN 0862415446 | |
Media type Print (hardback & paperback) Followed by Scipio, Scipio Africanus: The Man who Defeated Hannibal Similar The Bluffer's Guide to t, Classics, The Authority of Roses, Scipio Africanus: The Man | ||
Hannibal is a 1995 historical novel by Scottish writer Ross Leckie. The book relates the exploits of Hannibal's invasion of Rome beginning in 218 BC, narrated by the Carthaginian general in his retirement. It was the first of the Carthage trilogy, covering the Punic Wars. The novel received mixed reviews, mainly due to the extreme violence occasionally described in the narrative.
Contents
Synopsis
Beginning with the general’s youth and a potted history of Carthage in an attempt to explain Hannibal’s hatred of Rome, the bulk of the story is confined to the invasion of Italy and the epic journey Hannibal’s army took to reach its goal, including the voyage across the Straits of Gibraltar with his elephants on rafts, the far from easy passage through Spain and of course, the incredible feat of taking his entire army with their elephants over the Alps. The events described are often violent and sometimes quite horrific in their cruelty both on the journey and in the fighting which took place on Italian soil as Hannibal’s army sweeps through the Italian countryside seeking to out-manoeuvre his Roman opponents.