J.C. Stobart was an author focusing on historical topics. In 1924, he became the first Director of Education for the BBC.
He is best known for his two books about Greece and Rome. The titles of the books are a reference to the Edgar Allan Poe poem To Helen, which referred to the "glory that was Greece and the grandeur that was Rome".
His book on Rome is noted for its opposition for the worldview of Edward Gibbon. In contrast to Gibbon, who believed that the Roman Republic was superior to the Roman Empire, Stobart focused upon the achievements of the Empire.
His work is currently out of print, but much as the work of Edith Hamilton helped shape perceptions of antiquity in the United States, Stobart did the same in the Britain.
Major works
- The Glory That Was Greece (1911) ISBN 0283484551
- The Grandeur that was Rome (1912) ISBN 0312031017
