Jochen Bleicken, who died in 2005, specialized in Roman history and held professorships at Hamburg, Frankfurt and Göttingen. A passionate teacher, he continued to lecture until he was seventy-three. His previous works include The Athenian Democracy and History of the Roman Republic.

Anthea Bell is an award-winning translator of French and German literature. Her recent work includes translations of W.G. Sebald, Stefan Zweig and E.T.A. Hoffmann.