Messalina

by Jack Oleck

Messalina grew up into one of the most depraved, unscrupulous women in all history. From the moment of her first experience with a handsome slave, she used her body in the game of power politics. Here is her story - the story of the most powerful woman in Rome... and of the one man she found she could not destroy.

Genres: Historical Fiction

307 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1960

Reviews

[Kurt Reichenbaugh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Toga! Toga! Tog--ah grow up Kurt! How old are you, 12? I can't help it. I was in an old thrift store some years ago and they had a spinner rack full of vintage paperbacks and, well, those things draw me in like a moth to a flame. This was one of the books I carried home with me that day. I finally got around to reading it the past week while things were slow at work. It's the story of Empress Messalina, wife of Claudius, successor to Caligula. The first half of the novel features a young Messalina navigating her way among various lovers in the court of the "mad" emperor Caligula. Everything I know about Caligula was what I saw in that wretched movie starring Malcolm McDowell as Caligula, running around from scene to scene creating havoc. Nothing will induce me into watching that movie again. At some point I should get around to reading I, Claudius by Robert Graves instead of a tawdry novel like this one. Or perhaps Twelve Caesars by Suetonius. Perhaps it's not as much fun as a "toga porn" read such as this soap opera by Jack Oleck. But it may impress the hipsters at the coffee shop, seeing a skinny old middle-aged coot immersed in Roman history while waiting for his coffee to cool. As for this book? Well, Messalina is a hot-blooded empress leading hapless dupes around by the short-hairs while plotting the deaths of those who spurned her. Kind of like high school but with swords and togas and higher stakes. I imagine my copy will eventually end up back in a spinner rack in some obscure thrift store, waiting for the next nerd to take it home.

[Kili · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pulp fiction indeed

[Denise · Rating 4 out of 5]

The wicked wife of Claudius...