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Roman Emperors and their Illnesses
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Expected 30 Mar 26224 pages, Hardcover
Expected publication March 30, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses is written by Nick Summerton, a physician who has carefully and thoughtfully researched this intriguing subject. He describes the danger of ascribing modern pathology and evidence to ancient supposition. He also explains the sociocultural implications and the types of information used in researching ancient symptoms and diagnoses. Using real-life examples of Roman emperors' illnesses and deaths, he details ancient mortality, therapeutics, medicine, healers such as Galen, the importance of mental wellness and sleep, and coming to terms with chronic illness. As a chronic illness sufferer, much of the information is very relatable.
Ancient Roman history has beguiled me since I was a young child. Many trips to Roman territories have made all-things Roman come alive for me and I was thrilled to get my hands on this book to learn more. It pulled me into the lives of several emperors but the story which always stands out to me as a mushroom forager is that of Claudius who was purportedly poisoned by his wife, Agrippina. But the symptoms do not make sense. It will always be a mystery but the author deduced by documented events Claudius' death was more likely a heart attack or stroke. Not quite as exciting as poisoning! Interesting nonetheless.
All in all, this was an informative and fetching read. I appreciate the addition of photographs. It would be wonderful to read about other emperors and their ailments.
Ancient Roman history has beguiled me since I was a young child. Many trips to Roman territories have made all-things Roman come alive for me and I was thrilled to get my hands on this book to learn more. It pulled me into the lives of several emperors but the story which always stands out to me as a mushroom forager is that of Claudius who was purportedly poisoned by his wife, Agrippina. But the symptoms do not make sense. It will always be a mystery but the author deduced by documented events Claudius' death was more likely a heart attack or stroke. Not quite as exciting as poisoning! Interesting nonetheless.
All in all, this was an informative and fetching read. I appreciate the addition of photographs. It would be wonderful to read about other emperors and their ailments.
November 13, 2025
I am a Roman history buff of sorts (four years of Latin may have helped). And, I particularly enjoy the period between Augustus and Nero - this could be from enjoying reading I, Claudius (Robert Graves, 1935), I Loved Tiberius (Elisabeth Dored, 1959) and watching the 1976 BBC series, I, Claudius. So this book intrigued me and I was thrilled to receive this ARC from NetGalley and the publisher, Pen & Sword.
I found the book a delightful (though a bit pedantic at times) read. Not being in the medical field, I enjoyed learning how medicine was conducted in this period of history, learning what Galen and other men of the time handled sickness and disease, and how religion played into the care for the sick and dying. The historical context of the Roman emperors studied in this book was particularly of interest as were the suppositions that many of these men did not die natural deaths but were poisoned. I was particularly intrigued by Caligula (who was the worst of the emperors studied) and by Suetonius’s observation at Caligula’s death: “a tyrant humbled, an executioner executed, and a would-be usurper of divinity exposed as a mere mortal.” Very prescient even for our times.
I enjoyed this book for what I learned and for how it brought Roman life alive. It was well researched too.
I found the book a delightful (though a bit pedantic at times) read. Not being in the medical field, I enjoyed learning how medicine was conducted in this period of history, learning what Galen and other men of the time handled sickness and disease, and how religion played into the care for the sick and dying. The historical context of the Roman emperors studied in this book was particularly of interest as were the suppositions that many of these men did not die natural deaths but were poisoned. I was particularly intrigued by Caligula (who was the worst of the emperors studied) and by Suetonius’s observation at Caligula’s death: “a tyrant humbled, an executioner executed, and a would-be usurper of divinity exposed as a mere mortal.” Very prescient even for our times.
I enjoyed this book for what I learned and for how it brought Roman life alive. It was well researched too.
November 10, 2025
In Roman Emperors and Their Illnesses medical doctor Nick Summerton takes a multidisciplinary approach to creating plausible diagnosis for emperors Augustus, Tiberius, Caligula, Claudius, Nero, Marcus Aurelius, and Lucius Verus.
Summerton gives a detailed description of his methodology, and discusses such things as the importance of context, shifts in language, and biases of contemporary sources and modern historians. He stresses the importance of collaborating with classicists, linguists, historians, philosophers, and archaeologists to gain a fuller understanding of the lives and times of his subjects.
While it is fascinating to read about the process of diagnosing people who have been dead for the better part of two millennia, large portions of the book are painfully dull. Summerton often quotes ancient sources regarding the emperors' health for multiple pages when he could have given short quotations, paraphrased the rest, and then gotten on with his original work.
I do not regret the time I spent reading this book and I think it's highly informative about the emperors and a field of study I knew little about, but I really wish it was written in a slightly more reader friendly way.
Received via NetGalley.
Summerton gives a detailed description of his methodology, and discusses such things as the importance of context, shifts in language, and biases of contemporary sources and modern historians. He stresses the importance of collaborating with classicists, linguists, historians, philosophers, and archaeologists to gain a fuller understanding of the lives and times of his subjects.
While it is fascinating to read about the process of diagnosing people who have been dead for the better part of two millennia, large portions of the book are painfully dull. Summerton often quotes ancient sources regarding the emperors' health for multiple pages when he could have given short quotations, paraphrased the rest, and then gotten on with his original work.
I do not regret the time I spent reading this book and I think it's highly informative about the emperors and a field of study I knew little about, but I really wish it was written in a slightly more reader friendly way.
Received via NetGalley.
January 30, 2026
If you are particularly intrigued by the various ills that certain relatively famous Roman Emperors had, you will probably be interested in reading this book. If you're looking for an entertaining book on various ill Roman Emperors, you will likely be left wanting. The book in general is so very matter of fact and reads like a textbook. You also may find it slightly tedious if you don't have some small grounding in medical terminology and/or Latin and Greek.
I feel certain this is written with the layperson in mind but it falls slightly short of that goal. Even as someone with the relative medical grounding that I do, it felt like there could have been a little more explained.
This is also a book that relies exclusively on the words of ancient 'historians' and biographers. Historians in quotes because they themselves were working on even older word of mouth. Some writing about events 50 years or more in the past before they were even born.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the review copy.
I feel certain this is written with the layperson in mind but it falls slightly short of that goal. Even as someone with the relative medical grounding that I do, it felt like there could have been a little more explained.
This is also a book that relies exclusively on the words of ancient 'historians' and biographers. Historians in quotes because they themselves were working on even older word of mouth. Some writing about events 50 years or more in the past before they were even born.
Thank you to NetGalley and Pen & Sword for the review copy.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
E-ARC generously provided by Netgalley in exchange for an honest review! Thank you!
This was an extremely informative novel about multiple Roman emperors and their illnesses. The author openly states that the information he is using could be wrong due to the historical sources being biased and other forms of incorrect information. Even with that state of mind, this book goes into immense depth about the different emperors and what illnesses they could have had. The book also takes into account that their major differences in what one of the emperors could be diagnosed with due to the environment they were in (political, geographical, etc.). Different emperors, like Augustus to Lucius Verus, are also discussed, using an interesting method of how the author would go about making a proper diagnosis. Overall, the author does a fascinating job of highlighting the different emperors and discussing what illnesses or injuries they have carried throughout their lives, while also stating that "do no harm" as a doctor's promise should be followed through, even in ancient times, as many struggled with illnesses and injuries.
This was an extremely informative novel about multiple Roman emperors and their illnesses. The author openly states that the information he is using could be wrong due to the historical sources being biased and other forms of incorrect information. Even with that state of mind, this book goes into immense depth about the different emperors and what illnesses they could have had. The book also takes into account that their major differences in what one of the emperors could be diagnosed with due to the environment they were in (political, geographical, etc.). Different emperors, like Augustus to Lucius Verus, are also discussed, using an interesting method of how the author would go about making a proper diagnosis. Overall, the author does a fascinating job of highlighting the different emperors and discussing what illnesses or injuries they have carried throughout their lives, while also stating that "do no harm" as a doctor's promise should be followed through, even in ancient times, as many struggled with illnesses and injuries.
November 23, 2025
This is a wonderful addition to the historical writings about the ancient Roman emperors. It is well-documented and, although I found it at times to be a bit too scholarly (only for my tastes and purposes), nevertheless I appreciated the care and effort the author put into explaining the methods used in researching illnesses from thousands of years ago! The author uses historical records from contemporaries (or near contemporaries) of the emperors themselves. It is apparent that the author is well-versed not only in medicine, but in ancient studies as well. I definitely recommend this book to any that are looking for a detailed account of the illnesses of the Roman Emperors specifically, but also for any interested in how medicine was practiced in ancient times.
January 21, 2026
Roman Emperors and their Illnesses by Nick Summerton is an informative look at the medical issues that several Roman emperors experienced. Summerton clearly did an intensive amount of research to write this book. The book is a bit dry for my tastes and reads like a textbook. However, I appreciate the work that Summerton put into the book and believe the book will be fascinating for anyone interested in the subject.
Thank you to NetGalley, Nick Summerton, and the publisher for the eARC of this audiobook.
Thank you to NetGalley, Nick Summerton, and the publisher for the eARC of this audiobook.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
Netgalley ARC- Another very interesting topic. Very well researched and carefully written. Some parts could have used some editing but you can tell the author is passionate about his work. The photography included added a little bit of a textbook to the reading which is probably why some of it seemed very dry. Otherwise, overall a decent read.
December 13, 2025
When I saw this for download on Netgalley the premise intrigued me so I decided to ask for it. Glad I got approved for it because I quite liked this.
The book starts with an overview of how medicine worked in Ancient Rome and it was quite fascinating. I’ve read a lot about this recently but it’s always interesting to read more about it. It then goes over several different Roman emperors, their bouts with illness, and what may have been the cause of them.
The book rightly points out that is incredibly difficult/problematic to assign modern day illnesses to the symptoms that the different emperors were said to have. There are a multitude of things (translation errors, personal reporting, minimization/overreporting of symptoms, disease evolution) standing in the way of this correlation. Still, it was interesting to read about these spells of illness and the attempts to figure out what indeed might have been wrong.
I found this book well researched and well written. Was very easy to read.
Fair warning, I read an advanced copy of this and attempted to read it on my Kindle and it was very poorly formatted. The tables included basically broke the book. Ignore this if they fix it before release as I read this quite a bit in advance.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this. Recommend for all history fans, Roman history especially.
The book starts with an overview of how medicine worked in Ancient Rome and it was quite fascinating. I’ve read a lot about this recently but it’s always interesting to read more about it. It then goes over several different Roman emperors, their bouts with illness, and what may have been the cause of them.
The book rightly points out that is incredibly difficult/problematic to assign modern day illnesses to the symptoms that the different emperors were said to have. There are a multitude of things (translation errors, personal reporting, minimization/overreporting of symptoms, disease evolution) standing in the way of this correlation. Still, it was interesting to read about these spells of illness and the attempts to figure out what indeed might have been wrong.
I found this book well researched and well written. Was very easy to read.
Fair warning, I read an advanced copy of this and attempted to read it on my Kindle and it was very poorly formatted. The tables included basically broke the book. Ignore this if they fix it before release as I read this quite a bit in advance.
Overall I greatly enjoyed this. Recommend for all history fans, Roman history especially.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews