Agrippina: "Atrocious and Ferocious"

The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Dastardly Dames

by Shirin Yim Bridges, Peter Malone (Illustrator)

Ambitious Roman empress Agrippina murdered and married her way to the throne—and to being declared a goddess. She made many enemies, including her own son. But was she really all that atrocious?

Gorgeous illustrations and an intelligent, evocative story bring to life a real dastardly dame whose lust for power lost her the love of her people, and eventually, her life.

Genres: History, Picture Books, Biography, Childrens

32 pages, Hardcover

First published October 3, 2011

About the author

Shirin Yim Bridges comes from a family of writers and artists. Her first book, Ruby's Wish, was named one of the Best Children's Books of 2002 by Publishers Weekly, and won the Ezra Jack Keats awards for Best Writer and Best Illustrator in 2003. It is on several state reading lists, has been translated into six languages, and is now in its ninth edition.

Shirin's second book, The Umbrella Queen, made TIME/CNN's Top 10 Lists 2008: Best Children's Books, and was also named one of the Best Children's Books of 2008 by the Bank Street College of Education. The Umbrella Queen has been translated into Chinese and Japanese.

Her third book, Mary Wrightly So Politely, will be published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt.

In addition to being head goose at Goosebottom Books, Shirin wrote all six books in Goosebottom's first series, The Thinking Girl's Treasury of Real Princesses. (She's not doing that again! From now on, many geese will be helping her!)

Shirin has lived in many countries around the world, as is reflected in her writing—Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, and England. She was educated in the United States and now nests in California.

Reviews

[Abigail · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shirin Yim Bridges, the author and publisher of the wonderful picture-book biography series, The Thinking Girl's Treasure of Real Princesses, which profiled influential women rulers from world history, turns in this new series, The Thinking Girl's Treasure of Dastardly Dames, to some of history's less admirable women. This entry in the series profiles Agrippina the Younger, the daughter of the famous Roman general Germanicus, and the great-granddaughter of Rome's first emperor, Augustus. Powerful, proud and ambitious - qualities not always admired in women at that time and place - Agrippina was married three times, lastly to her own uncle, the Emperor Claudius, who treated her as an equal co-ruler. It was at this time that she began to be viewed negatively in Rome, accused of scheming for power, and of many murders. Some described her as "atrox ac ferox" - "atrocious and ferocious." Her son Nero eventually became emperor, but turned against her, having her assassinated in the year 59 AD...

I found Agrippina Atrocious and Ferocious to be an engaging and informative biography, and appreciate the way that Bridges presents both the accusations against her subject, in her main narrative, and possible alternate explanations of her supposed "crimes" in the afterword. Agrippina may indeed have murdered some of her husbands, but the evidence is inconclusive. She may have persecuted her enemies, but records shows that, despite the rumors about her, secret trials actually decreased while she was in power. This balanced approach is needed, I think, and will encourage young readers and would-be historians to think critically about the narratives they are imbibing. The illustrations here, a mixture of paintings by Peter Malone and photographs of artifacts from antiquity, are appealing. My only criticism of the book, and it is not an insignificant one, is that the back matter is so much more scant than in some of Bridge's earlier books. Other than the afterword discussing Agrippina's possible guilt ("How dastardly was she?"), there is nothing here - no list of further reading or sources, no timeline. I really found that surprising, given that this is a biography, and meant to be an informative title. Leaving aside that criticism, which led me to deduct a star, I'm glad to have started this second series from Bridges, and hope to continue with other titles about history's dastardly dames.

[Melanie Gaum · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have read about Agrippina before and was able to follow the family tree just fine, but this book made it hard to keep track of some people. A family lineage visual would have been helpful. I also wish the book had talked more about the possibility of whether of not she actually committed the crimes she was accused of (there was a chart at the very end on this, but a page or two expanding on it would have been interesting).

[Kara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Part of series on biographies on powerful women for young readers that follows a specific template, its a good introduction to one of the important figures of the early Roman Empire.

[Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am still reading a few children's biographies of people I have come across in my podcast listening. I have never heard of Agrippina before, although I have heard of some her family members. Wow, truly she was atrocious and ferocious, doing anything and everything she can in order to obtain power. The illustrations in this book are paintings, and photos of busts, tapestries, coins, and simple illustrations as the story is told of her life and quest and rise to power.