A totally lavish historical drama set in the ancient Mediterranean world.

Christopher Tower’s Arcesilayus at Tocra follows Arcesilayus, ruler of Cyrene, through questions of kingship, warfare, loyalty and political judgment. Written as a five-act verse play, it draws on the classical world not as a stage for arguments about power, friendship, military ambition and the dangers of certainty.

Giovanni Caselli’s illustrations — rendered in black, white, gold and silver — sit somewhere between Art Deco, archaeological reconstruction and theatrical set design, while ornamental borders turn the whole thing into an unusually elaborate book-object. A gorgeous, illustrated classical pageant: stylised, faintly eccentric, and genuinely beautiful. 

Edition / Condition: George Weidenfeld & Nicolson, London, 1992. First edition. Hardcover in dust jacket. Illustrated throughout by Giovanni Caselli, with lithographic plates and decorative borders in black, white, gold and silver. Light shelf wear and minor edge wear to jacket; internally clean and bright, binding firm. Very good condition.