A Rome of One's Own: The Forgotten Women of the Roman Empire

by Emma Southon

From the acclaimed author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, a wildly entertaining new history of Rome that uses the lives of twenty-one extraordinary women to upend our understanding of the ancient world The history of Rome has long been narrow and one-sided, essentially a history of "the Doing of Important Things." It is a history of winning battles, passing laws, and "Having Important Opinions in Public." And as far as Roman historians have been concerned, women don't make that history. From Romulus through "the political stab-fest of the late Republic," and then on to all the emperors, Roman historians may deign to give you a wife or a mother to show how bad things get when women get out of control, but history is more than that. Emma Southon's A Rome of One's Own will correct that. This is a retelling of the history of Rome with the Important Things, but also all the things Roman history writers relegate to the background--or designate as domestic, feminine, or worthless. This is a history of individuals, twenty-one women who span the length of its territory and its centuries, who caused outrage, led armies in rebellion, wrote poetry, lived independently or under the thumb of emperors. A social and cultural history told with humor and verve as well as a deep scholarly background, A Rome of One's Own highlights women overlooked and misunderstood, and through them offers a fascinating and groundbreaking chronicle of the ancient world.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Feminism, Historical, Ancient History, Audiobook, Womens

1 pages, Audio CD

First published September 7, 2023

About the author

Dr. Emma Southon holds a PhD in ancient history from the University of Birmingham.
After a few years teaching Ancient and Medieval history, followed by some years teaching academic writing, she quit academia because it is grim and started writing for her own enjoyment.
She co-hosts a history/comedy podcast with Janina Matthewson called History is Sexy.

Reviews

[Marquise · Rating 1 out of 5]

US English review: Trash.
UK English review: Rubbish.
Marquisate English review: Fuuuu... ugh ... agh.

Since a few of you asked, here's why: The author's basic thesis is that Roman women were excluded from their historiography (mostly true), and we can remedy that by studying the stories about the few women the Roman historians did talk about, but more than seen as "about" them, it has to be seen as "through" them, because Romans saw these women as merely vessels carrying a message (mostly not true). And there is where my issues with it began, because then the author proceeds to do a retroactive, hindsight 20/20, modernist type of "interpretation" she tries, often too hard, to sell as humorous, peppering it with pop-culture offhand comments (what the Hell do cryptocurrencies have to do with the topic of Roman women, please?).

And to cinch this, she kicks her own house-of-cards of a premise that Roman women were excluded by deliberately excluding a few famous Roman women herself. Where's Cornelia Scipionis, please? And Fulvia? Hortensia? Tullia? Several worthy Roman women are excluded, yet some mythical ones that might as well be as fictional as Pippi Longstockings are in this book, as are women who weren't Roman in the least. Maybe it's that, if all the known and famous Roman women are included impartially, her premise doesn't work at all? One can't but suspect so. The mythical, the scandalous bon-vivants, the enemies, the rotten empresses, those are adequate for a sensationalised pop history book for the masses, and easy to mould and twist to fit one's narrative. But the real women, the Roman women who also made Rome what it became, aren't ideal for this type of a cash-grab book.

[Stephanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

OK, I'm only 1/3 of the way into my e-ARC so far, but I had to stop to say this:

Because I'd loved Emma Southon's earlier books (especially her Agrippina bio), I knew I would probably enjoy this one (a history of Rome through its documented women). I was expecting it to be sharp and witty and full of fascinating info, which it has absolutely delivered on so far (1/3 of the way in)...

...but I did NOT expect one of the chapters (on Turia & her 41-year marriage) to actually, literally make me cry because it was so moving & so startlingly, unexpectedly romantic. Turia DEFINITELY deserves a historical biopic movie, novel, & TV series, & I am so glad I got an ARC of this book!

Now back to reading. :)

***

And now that I've finished reading:

Honestly, just: preorder this book! If you love reading about history, buy it; if you're a fiction writer who finds inspiration in the past, buy it. It's absolutely packed with fascinating characters and huge amounts of drama as well as wonderful social and practical details. It's a fabulous mix of social and political history, as Southon tells the story of the Empire as a whole as seen through the lives of these particular women, who cover a wide range of backgrounds. It's a really compulsive read throughout, as well as hugely entertaining - and while Southon is always cheerfully opinionated, she also carefully shows her sources and leaves space for the reader to come to their own interpretations if they don't agree with her.

This is my favorite history book in quite a long time, and I look forward to getting my preordered paper copy, to cover it in sticky notes and re-read it in the future.

[Pooja Peravali · Rating 5 out of 5]

Conventional Ancient Roman histories may be dominated by men, but that tells an incomplete story. Emma Southon tells the stories of twenty-one women who made their mark on the empire.

While I enjoy reading about history, ancient history is usually not my jam - with one major exception. I will read anything Emma Southon writes, and wish fervently every time I finish one of her books that I hadn't already read all of her older ones. It's the conversational tone, the clear pleasure with which the book is narrated, and the knack that the author has for bridging the gap between the present and such a distant past while still making clear how very different the ancient Romans were from us.

In this book, we are told the stories of twenty-one Roman women who in some way left their mark visible to us two millennia later, which is a truly astonishing feat considering how little has been written about them by historians of the time, who were not particularly bothered with the everyday lives of such second-class citizens.

I appreciated that she showed us a diverse array of women from many different social classes and backgrounds, including women we might not today think of as being Roman, such as Boudica and Zenobia. I had known some of the events with which the women were associated, so it was surprising and illuminating to have the role that they played in them be brought to the forefront. I found the section about the women we know of through archeology to be particularly interesting, as it gave me an fascinating insight into the lives of middle class Roman women.

Disclaimer: I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley. This is my honest and voluntary review.

[ConfusedMagpie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanna start this review by saying that I was SO excited about this book and i have loved everything else Emma Southon has written. That is why the dissapointment is so deep here. This book is so full of relentless pop culture and current jokes (that mostly feel super forced) that it’s hard to read, and shows an apparent lack of trust in the value of its content. I am a very political person and an uncompromising leftie and feminist. I am saying that so that its clear that when I say that the political and pop-feminist pandering in this book was so saturating I wanted to tear my eyes out, no one thinks Im speaking as some right winger that is sick of “woke culture” or something like that.

All of those issues aside, the choices of women were in many moments so baffling I was left wanting for some i would have never excluded and were actual Big Players of Roman History (Where is Livia? Cleopatra? Hypatia? Hortensia?), and confused as to why some were included as the record of then is so sparse. My hypothesis is that the author knowingly ignored Big Players whenever she found them to be too “in” with the system, thus cementing her thesis of women being these eternal outsiders. Idk. I was confused. There is no woman in Roman History (and in most ancient History) more influential and deserving of rememberance and admiration than Livia Drusilla Claudia, and I take personal offense at her snubbing.

Some of the women in the book were super interesting to read about, therefore the 2 stars.

[Finch · Rating 1 out of 5]

I think if I knew even a little bit less about Roman history (which, to be clear, I don't know a lot - what I have picked up from osmosis and friends who are much more knowledgeable, and what I remember from half a classics course ten years back) I would have liked this book more.

It wasn't funny, which is VERY funny considering the author talks multiple times about how unfunny Roman comedians and satirists were, it wasn't particularly informative, and despite the author talking about how much she loves the Romans and Roman history, it has this... disdain throughout.

It's also extremely funny to me to present this book as one of the only books to ever focus on Roman women when my god damn A-level Classics course ten years ago was The Lives Of Women In Ancient Greece and Rome.

[Brendan (History Nerds United) · Rating 3 out of 5]

Who would have thought Rome could be so funny? You know, other than all the killings and such. Emma Southon attempts to re-frame Roman history with A Rome of One's Own. Southon puts the focus squarely on the women who were relegated to the background or forgotten altogether in the story of Rome.

Full disclaimer upfront. I enjoy humor in my history books, but I like it when it's used sparingly. If you liked Southon's other books then I highly suspect you will love this. She writes very well and she certainly got a few big laughs out of me. She clearly has an understanding of the time period and the research is great. There were two problems which took me out of the book a bit too much and I suspect one causes the other.

First, (and Southon makes sure you know whose fault this is) is there is a sad lack of actual documentation on a lot of what she is writing. Women were almost completely ignored during this time period, but unfortunately it means Southon only has so much to use for this book. I think that led to my second problem which was jokes seemed to take up too much narrative space. Again, some of her one liners landed perfectly (fire phallus, but I digress) but others took up at least paragraph and after a while it became distracting for me. As I mentioned, you may be the type of reader who doesn't mind diversions here and there in which case you should read this. I fully admit this "problem" is a personal preference as opposed to a failure on Southon's part.

(This book was provided as an advance copy by Netgalley and Abrams Press.)

[Emma Deplores Goodreads Censorship · Rating 4 out of 5]

An entertaining and educational work, from a scholar of ancient history whose work always comes across to me like lectures from “the fun professor”: someone deeply versed in scholarship but with a delivery that is hip, irreverent, and opinionated. The British title is “A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women” and that’s more representative of its contents, though less allusive, than the American one, “A Rome Of One’s Own” (although over a third of the book is set before Rome became an empire). The chapters each focus on a different woman (or two) and a different period in history, so for me, something to read a chapter at a time rather than blow through all at once.

Happily, I learned a fair bit about Roman history from this. The women profiled are diverse, and other than Boudicca (because no one can resist writing about Boudicca) were ones I hadn’t heard of before. The book moves from examination of the roles of women in Rome’s foundation myths; to the formerly enslaved woman who wound up giving information that brought down the cult of Dionysus, all in an effort to save her boyfriend from his malicious mom; to a businesswoman in Pompei, officers’ wives at the forts along Hadrian’s Wall, a highborn court poet, an early Christian martyr. There are women at the peak of political power, too: I especially enjoyed reading about Augustus’s daughter Julia Caesar, whose restricted upbringing ultimately turned into rebellion, and Julia Maesa, a Syrian woman whose sister married an officer who later became emperor, and who then fought successfully to get her two successive grandsons on the throne. There were some real Machiavellian moves there, but she seems to have been popular, and I’d love to read a novel about her if anybody could write a good one.

In the end, I definitely enjoyed this and found it well worth reading, as well as sometimes humorous. Too much of this author’s voice would probably begin to grate, but in small doses it is excellent, and a great way to learn more about Roman history.

[Katya]

Conseguir que eu abandone um livro sobre cultura clássica (e o papel das mulheres dentro dela) é um feito prodigioso, no pior dos sentidos. Mas tenho muitos e variados problemas com este livro, a começar aqui:
Chamar revisionismo a uma leitura que não esquece as figuras femininas que compõem a história é tão perigoso como afirmar que estas não tomaram parte nela, já que ambas - leitura revisionista ou leitura marginal - nascem de uma leitura original em que não figuram as mulheres. E isto não é correto. Aliás, a autora esforça-se por mostrar que a cultura romana, nos seus primórdios, precisa de, e reconhece as mulheres no seu discurso histórico. Logo, o revisionismo é aquilo que a historiografia tem vindo a sofrer de então até agora, com este tipo de livro a tentar recuperar os discursos e interpretações originais. Logo, não é de revisionismo que este livro trata. Logo, não sei em que pensava a autora para o afirmar, mas vou tomá-lo como sintomático de uma época confusa como aquela em que vivemos.
Depois há o problema do tom (muito) ligeiro com que a autora trata temas sérios como rapto, assassinato, violação etc. Entendo aligeirar a temática - dado o contexto da publicação não ser académico (arrisco mesmo dizer que o livro se destina às massas que consomem mitologia e cultura clássica apenas através de retellings e dos fenómenos de cultura pop atuais) -, mas parece-me um exagero a frequência com que o faz (frequência essa apenas superada pela interferência de valores modernos e vocabulário obsceno na narrativa), a menos que pretenda que o livro seja lido por miúdos de 14 anos. Mas talvez esse seja mesmo o objetivo já que o sentido de humor da autora é chocantemente infantil - como aqui: The Roman Republic insisted that gods as important as Jupiter got two priests, a husband-and-wife duo called the flamen and flaminica Dialis, while lesser gods like little lost Furrina (perhaps the goddess of cute kittens?) were granted one. E arrapazado - como aqui: Now the reason I’m telling you this, even though it is not strictly relevant, is that the sacred objects were kept in a special room, a room only these six lifelong virgins could legally enter, these women who would never experience the touch of a man. The Romans called that room the penus. (...) In certain ways, the Vestals – with their protection of the hearth and the penus (stop it) – were Rome. Por favor, alguém diga à senhora que isto não significa o que ela pensa que os seus leitores vão pensar!

Não cheguei longe neste livro, mas também não vale a pena. A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women é um livro que se vende barato: a tentativa de fazer sensacionalismo com as histórias, e comédia com as palavras é triste e ineficaz, e transmite a sensação de que a própria autora não respeita o seu trabalho o suficiente, acabando por embarcar neste tipo de jornada a descambar para o estilo redes sociais.

[Anthony Holliday · Rating 2 out of 5]

I enjoyed the stories that were told though it did tend to get a little repetitive in the nature of it's story telling. For me the tone did not work as much as the author tried to make it work. It felt as if the author was writing Roman history for tumblr. This may work for other readers but just didn't work for me. I really enjoyed the premise and the nuggets of history that were included. You can also tell that Southon is very knowledgeable on Roman history.

[Cara (Wilde Book Garden) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 stars

My only critique is very much in the category of "probably won't register to a lot of readers", but it did get my hackles up a bit that the only time Southon doesn't show her customary compassion that I know and love among all her humor is with the 1 or 2 examples dealing with early Roman Christian women.

Now obviously there were and are many terrible things done by the Church! but Southon's obvious distaste for these women's choices and beliefs really stood out and even felt judgemental in some places, and also (in my opinion) overgeneralized in a way that surprised me (i.e., she talks about the negative impact on women with the spread of Christianity, which of course happened as well - but not at all about the ways that some women in the early church had some opportunities that other women didn't, or the inherent subversiveness of a religion that [at least on paper] stood for the absolute equality of all people.)

And I also fully acknowledge that there should be more critique of the Church's fixation on (particularly young female) martyrs, but the way Southon wrote about this particular girl's death felt like it robbed her of any possible agency - or more specifically, it felt to me like Southon did not acknowledge there was the possibility of agency in this situation.

Anyway, rant over - overall the book was brilliant, clever, hilarious, moving, and well-researched, as I have come to expect from Emma Southon! I still love her work and eagerly look forward to more, but I wanted to mention the issue I had with this specific book.

CW: Grief, violence, murder, abuse, slavery, misogyny
***

I'M SO GLAD I RANDOMLY LOOKED UP EMMA SOUTHON AGAIN ON GOODREADS; this just became one of my most anticipated books of the year 🥰

[Ray]

Well I finally broke 200 on my to read pile. At my current reading rate this is 4 years worth of books. Not good.

[Krisette Spangler · Rating 2 out of 5]

It's sad that I have to give this book such a low rating. The author is just so crass. The historical stories about women were really interesting, but I just hated the author inserting her crass humor and foul language into the narrative. I was disappointed.

[emma! · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5; i support women’s rights but more importantly i support women’s wrongs (except if they were made up by roman men as a means of undermining their political and social autonomy)

[Romulus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Lubię dawać pięć gwiazdek. W tym przypadku trochę się tego nie spodziewałem. Mimo że lubię Imperium Rzymskie (i to jak), to trudno znaleźć książkę na jego temat, która w końcu nie zacznie przytłaczać mentorskim tonem. Ale czasami się udaje. Autorka pisze lekko, ale wnikliwie, bazując na źródłach, ale bez przynudzania. Do tego z dowcipem. Na dodatek nie opowiada o tych kobietach „oczywistych”. Z pewnością gdyby napisała o Messalinie lub Agryppinie (matce Nerona), to skończyłoby się to u mnie „kartkowaniem”. Najbardziej oczywistym wyborem (z mojego punktu widzenia) dokonanym przez autorkę była Julia, córka Oktawiana Augusta. O pozostałych, od tych legendarnych po bardziej znane/opisane wiedziałem mniej zatem mnóstwo tu było dla mnie wartości dodanej. Niektóre z tych sportretowanych kobiet były tak niesamowite, że trudno uwierzyć. Kolejną wartością było to, że autorka „swoje” bohaterki osadzała w ich miejscu i czasie - to jest nie robiła z nich heroin wykraczających poza epokę, w której żyły.

Przy tym, wybór dokonany do tej książki obejmuje tylko okres do upadku zachodniego imperium.

[bookishcharli · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love learning about the ancient world, especially Rome and Greece, and I was thrilled to hear Emma was writing a new book as I loved her book on Agrippina so much. I went into this one thrilled to learn more about some of the women of the Roman Empire that the world can be all too keen to forget (because it’s still a man’s world).

After I’d read each section about one of the women mentioned I went on a little google search for them too so that I could better my understanding of them, that’s the kind of power Emma’s books hold for me. They make me want to learn more about whatever she’s currently telling me about. I’d read anything she put out and I can’t wait to see who she tackles next.


Thank you to OneWorld Publications for sending me a proof of this fascinating read.

[jula · Rating 5 out of 5]

4.75/5 — i love history and i love women ❤️

[cami · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5⭐️
i just love women

[Petra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Absolutely recommend this book to anyone whether you like Roman history or not.
This book is stories of women of Rome and the alternative history they offer.
Emma Southon is really funny but at the same time will paint accurate even if a little cynical picture of Rome.

[Shaki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Eine überblickshafte (!!) Reise durch die Geschichte des Römischen Reiches anhand mehrerer Kurzbiografien diverser Frauen mit unterschiedlichen Hintergründen und Schicksalen.
Wer eine streng akademische, in die Tiefe gehende Historiographie erwartet, sucht hier an falscher Stelle. Wer sich jedoch mit einem oberflächlichen Exkurs, gespickt mit popkulturellen Anspielungen, anfreunden kann: here you go!
Viele Aspekte werden in diesem Buch nicht bedacht. Stattdessen werden Perspektiven vorgestellt, die in der männlich dominierten Geschichtsschreibung meist außen vor gelassen werden. Hin und wieder war mir die Sichtweise etwas zu modern und hat Geschehnisse aus dem Kontext ihrer Zeit gerissen. Andererseits haben einige Vergleiche mit modernen Vorkommnissen auch den Vorteil, die Relevanz verschiedener Themen und Ereignisse zu verdeutlichen.
Empfehlung für alle, die sich noch nicht eingehend mit römischer Geschichte auseinandergesetzt haben und einen leichten Zugang suchen.

[PiaReads · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐ | Dieses Buch bietet eine erfrischend neue Perspektive auf das Römische Reich – und zwar aus weiblicher Sicht. Anstatt sich auf die üblichen Geschichten von Kriegen, Eroberungen und Kaiserdramen zu konzentrieren, stellt die Autorin 21 faszinierende Frauenfiguren in den Mittelpunkt, die auf unterschiedlichste Weise mit der römischen Geschichte verwoben sind. Dabei gelingt es ihr, historische Fakten mit einer lebendigen, humorvollen Erzählweise zu verbinden. Der Stil erinnert fast an eine Freundin, die einem beim Klatsch und Tratsch auf den neuesten Stand bringt – unterhaltsam, locker und zugänglich.

Allerdings muss ich zugeben, dass ich generell nicht viel mit der Antike anfangen kann. Gerade deshalb ist mir schwer gefallen, dass das Buch oft voraussetzt gewisse Namen und Kontexte zu kennen. Wenn plötzlich eine Figur wie Tiberius erwähnt wird, ohne weitere Erklärung, hätte ich mir eine kurze Einordnung oder eine kleine Fußnote gewünscht. Das hätte den Lesefluss für mich deutlich erleichtert.

Nichtsdestotrotz ist das Buch eine empfehlenswerte Lektüre für alle, die Lust auf eine unkonventionelle, fesselnde und vor allem weibliche Perspektive auf das Römische Reich haben!

Herzlichen Dank an den Verlag und NetGalley fürs Bereitstellen des Leseexemplar.

[María · Rating 5 out of 5]

Vaya libraco, virgen santa. Qué chula ha sido esta lectura, me alegro MUCHÍSIMO de haberla encontrado en la biblioteca.

No sabéis lo divertido que es este libro y la de cosas interesantes que se aprenden. Está narrado de forma maravillosa, con un tono de humor que lo hace fresco y te hace querer leer más y más historias. Hacía mucho que no me sumergía en la Historia de Roma en profundidad y he agradecido refrescar la memoria y reírme mucho.

Como siempre, la perspectiva de género abre nuevas preguntas en cualquier periodo histórico, y Emma Southon las responde de forma mordaz y clara. A través de estas historias de mujeres completamente diferentes se puede atisbar una Roma que no es como la venden en la típica ficción, sino más compleja y con unos matices muy interesantes.

Si os gusta la historia y os apetece una mirada fresca e incisiva sobre acontecimientos famosos (y no tan famosos) de la Antigüedad, tenéis que leer este ensayo.

[Rissa (rissasreading) · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a fun, fascinating, and very entertaining read that dives into some women from Rome and their erasure from Roman Histories, as well as how their histories were reshaped by men. I enjoyed some of the comedic elements to the way Emma Southon told these women's stories, it kept things interesting. It's definitely fascinating to read this book as I picked it up to supplement an essay I'll be writing on Women and Work and this book showcases how some women made their living and also ruled cities. Women have always been important to households and society as a whole, and telling these stories about these women breathes new life into Roman Histories.
Some of my favorite chapters were on Tarpeia and Hersilia, Lucretia and Tullia, and Julia Felix.

[Jo · Rating 5 out of 5]

The title tells you all you need to know as to what this book is about; 21 women who impacted the Roman Empire in some way. A good mix of patrician and pleb with a few 'foreigners' thrown in, Southon's writing is entertaining and engaging and rather illuminating.

[Katheryn Thompson · Rating 4 out of 5]

I generally can't resist this kind of book, telling the stories of women from history who deserve to be remembered, and, as someone with an interest in the Classical world, I was particularly excited to see one focused on the Roman Empire. The history of the Roman Empire (as Emma Southon puts it) is usually told as one of men doing Important Things. But history is about so much more than this, and so was the Roman Empire. A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women is a revisionist history of Rome, from its foundation in 753 BCE to the fall of the last western Roman emperor in 476 CE, through the lives of women you have probably never heard of. What is so brilliant about this book is that it doesn't just tell the stories of 21 Roman women, but it also uses these women's stories to tell the story of the Roman Empire itself.

A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women moves chronologically through the formation and fall of the Roman Empire, providing all the necessary context along the way, and suddenly this huge period of time and space becomes much easier to comprehend because its story is told through key individuals. What's more, Southon uses these women's stories to question what it means to be a Roman, a term too often applied to only a tiny minority of the people who lived during and across the Empire. I would have been happy with a book that just told me some interesting stories about some interesting women, many of whom I would otherwise never even have heard of, but this book does so much more than that.

This is the first book I have read by Emma Southon, and I was immediately struck by how informal and personal her writing style is. Southon does a brilliant job of making sure that any reader, however much or little they know about the Roman Empire, is likely to find her book an entertaining and informative read. But more than that, Southon is constantly making jokes, sarcastic asides, and giving her unfiltered opinions on the people and events which fill her pages, without ever sacrificing the content and flow of her book. I definitely did not expect A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women to have me laughing out loud.

I almost gave this one five stars, and I'm still wavering a little. I really enjoyed A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women, and it far exceeded my expectations. I suppose I sometimes found the jokey writing style a little much, and I think Southon is perhaps sometimes a little too sure of her opinions (or at least it comes across that way at times), so it's four stars from me. But I can definitely recommend this book, which is out on 7 September.

Thanks to Netgalley and Oneworld for an advance copy.

[Elena · Rating 5 out of 5]

# 7 favourite book of 2023

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women is the third book I've read by Emma Southon this year, and it might be my favourite. The idea in itself is great: Southon recounts the Roman Empire by telling the stories of 21 very different women, showing through their lives how the Empire changed and evolved. It was an enjoyable and informative read from start to finish. I loved how Southon mostly included lesser known women, most of those I had never heard of before. I really enjoyed all stories, but these two were my favourites:

-Turia: a woman who lived during the civil wars, her chapter is aptly titled "the survivor". As Southon writes, 
With 48 bce coming to an end Turia had thus far lived through a murder mystery, a legal thriller, a home invasion horror movie and a long saga about a man getting home against all the odds while being chased by hired killers.
We know about her life because her husband, Lucretius, built an enormous memorial on the Via Appia for her, and etched his memories of her into stone monoliths. In doing so, he gave us an intriguing testimony of how women's lives could be impacted by the political winds of the Late Republic, but the memorial is also an everlasting proof of sincere love.

- Julia Balbilla: companion to Empress Sabina and poet. We know about her because, while Lucretius was the one who wrote about his wife, Balbilla herself inscribed three epigrams on the statue of Memnon in Thebes, while she was touring Egypt as part of the imperial court of Hadrian. While she wrote in honor of the imperial couple, she also made sure that everyone who visited the statue for the rest of time knew exactly who Julia Balbilla was, and in doing so she created a public image of herself. She must have been a truly fascinating figure.

[Jake Cole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I had not previously heard of this author but a combination of intense social media hype and the incredibly interesting thesis of a history book about marginalized figures lost to Great Men Theory was so appealing. Almost instantly I regretted my decision to give this a shot as the embarrassing, sub-Kate Beaton, sub-The Toast level of blithe, pop culture-heavy prose bypassed approachability for downright condescension to the reader. At every turn, Southon treats ancient history with such dismissive snark that she inadvertently even manages to denigrate the women she seeks to give a belated spotlight. The parenthetical eye-rolling and winking asides to the reader, the haplessly incongruous cultural references, and the open-mic-level "am I right, ladies?" jokes stack up so fast that she has to go out of her way to note when she actually does admire anyone.

Only when you get to the final third and history shifts into the dawn of the Christian era does Southon finally start to err on the side of respect, first for the early women martyrs of Christianity and then for the devout but strong-minded power players of the ascendant Christian rule of Rome and Byzantium does this steer out of the ditch that the author drives into from the outset.

[Lea · Rating 4 out of 5]

War sehr easy zu lesen und hatte ein gutes Tempo. Manchmal empfand ich den Schreibstil als etwas zu kumpelhaft aber in a bad way und auch wenn das bei anderen immer angeprangert wurden kamen von der Autorin an ein paar stellen auch misogyne Stereotype. All in all aber eine Empfehlung, ich hab viel gelernt aber it wont be my next Roman Empire

[Clare Moore · Rating 5 out of 5]

Emma Southon’s books are always a mix of excellent research and a sassy writing style. This book is so insightful regarding the lives of individual women, the historical arc of Roman history, and it’s hilarious.

[elle · Rating 5 out of 5]

I spent a lot of time while reading this book having to pause and thinking “Wow this book is actually really really good”

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

Here’s something you don’t find yourself often saying about a historian: I would pay money to see Emma Southon perform standup.

While I do think all the best historians do approach their material with some sense of humor, Southon is generally hilarious (seriously, it’s a joke a sentence and they NEVER miss) and manages to be so without either exhausting the reader or compromising the quality of the information being passed along. That is not an easy thing to do.

I also loved A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and I love how different these two books are, both covering the more obscure material in a field that is very popular to write about while still getting the basics across for readers who might not have as much background knowledge on the subject.

I love nonfiction that works for both beginners and those with professional knowledge, and Southon does such a lovely job of creating something that will work for both extremes as well as any reader in between.

But the real draw is just how hilarious and entertaining she is when delivering information that often seems banal or unremarkable when you see it presented in other publications. I look forward to whatever aspect of history (Roman or otherwise) that Southon decides to tackle next.