Cornelia: The First Woman of Rome

by Dan Armstrong

The written history of the Roman Republic is nearly devoid of exceptional women. Among the few who are mentioned, Cornelia Scipionis stands out. Born to one of Rome’s most prestigious families, and the daughter of the general who defeated Hannibal, Cornelia is remembered as Rome’s first woman intellectual and as the ideal Roman mother.
Her sons, Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus, spent their lives trying to give greater voice to the common citizen in a governmental system dominated by the aristocracy. Each brother made huge, all but revolutionary, impacts on Roman politics, but Cornelia, as well as her daughter Sempronia, were also important players during the turbulent years of the late Republic. The tragic story of the Gracchi family represents a little known chapter in Roman history that begs to be retold because of its historical significance and how it reflects on current times.
Sempronia, the oldest child, narrates her family’s jourmey through the fifteen years of her brothers’ controversial political careers. Cornelia is revealed by her relationships with each of her children, either assisting her sons to navigate the extreme politics of Rome eighty years before the death of Caesar or helping Sempronia to cope with a serious disability compounded by an abusive marriage to the most powerful man in Rome. This poignant story of ancient Rome accents the strength of a middle-aged woman standing with her sons and her daughter against an increasingly brutal political regime.

Genres: Fiction, Historical Fiction

355 pages, Paperback

Published September 30, 2017

About the author

: Dan Armstrong is a novelist and the owner and operator of the website Mud City Press, an online magazine focusing on the environment and sustainable agriculture.
Dan has published nine novels through Mud City Press. Two, Taming the Dragon (2007) and Prairie Fire (2007), are fast-moving suspense stories written with an environmental backdrop. Puddle of Love (2009) is a racy, contemporary mystery/ghost story set in a brothel in eastern Oregon. Chain of Souls (2010) is an historical novel set in India 1948 after the death of Gandhi. The Eyes of Archimedes Book I: The Siege of Syracuse (2013) , The Eyes of Archimedes Book II: The Death of Marcellus (2015), and The Eyes of Archimedes Book III: Zama (2017) are an historical trilogy set during the Second Punic War (218-202 BC).
Cornelia: The First Woman of Rome (2018) is another historical novel set in Rome (135-121 BC). It follows the life of Cornelia Scipionis and her three children during the first years of the Republic's demise. Blake College (2019) is a supernatural mystery set in Eugene, Oregon in 1970. The Jewel Case (2020) is a historical fiction based on Sigmund Freud's controversial "Dora: An Anaylsis of a Case of Hysteria." Dan has also published an edgy collection of short stories The Open Secret and Twelve Other Tales of the Unknown (2014) .

Dan graduated from Princeton University in 1972 with a BSE in Aerospace Engineering and has been a free-lance writer since 1980. He has published articles in the Register Guard, the Oregonian, the Eugene Magazine, the North Coast Times Eagle, the Eugene Weekly, Locally Grown, Oregon Tilth Magazine, the Landwatch Newsletter, Acres USA, and numerous websites. He is the staff writer for the Southern Willamette Valley Bean and Grain Project. He served for three years on the board of directors for the Lane County Farmers’ Market and was also as a member of the Lane County Food Policy Council from 2008 to 2011. Dan won the Wayne Morris Now Award for community service in 2010. Dan lives in Eugene, Oregon with his wife Judith and has a 32 year-old son, Tyler.

Reviews

[Jane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really about the whole Gracchi family, as told by Cornelia's daughter, Sempronia, who endures an abusive marriage and a clubfoot. The novel concentrates on her and on her two brothers, Tiberius and Gaius. Each tries, through political office, to improve social conditions: a land reform law, universal citizenship throughout Roman territory, grain distribution to the poor. Cornelia's influence permeates their lives. She is an educated, intelligent woman who counsels her children wisely and has come down through history as the ideal mother and exemplar of ideal Roman womanhood.

Wonderfully told story of the beginning of the waning days of the Roman Republic. Although I already knew the fates of the two brothers, this novel held my interest all through. Bit of a murder mystery added some spice. Highly recommended.

[Susan Hughes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent Fictional Retelling of the Brothers Gracchi

I stay away from Kindle Unlimited book offers as they reek of bad writing and editing. This book, however, was an anomaly. I have always been fascinated by ancient Roman history, particularly the last years of the Roman Republic, so despite my reservations I bought this book. It was so well written. It required little editing and I believe retold the stories of Tiberius and Gaius Gracchus brilliantly. I would highly recommend this book. The author represented himself well.

In addition to reciting the historical facts (as well as may be possible) the author included intriguing subplots. I enjoyed this book tremendously.

[Kris · Rating 3 out of 5]

Two things threw,me out of this book

1) Spinning wheels weren't invented until after 1000 A.D. in China. Greek and Roman women of Sempronia's time used distaffs.

2) While the wheelchair certainly was a likely invention--see earlier Attic vase paintings depicting wheeled beds--ut was depicted in such a way as to.make it feel anachronistic.

All in all, not an involving novel, which is a shame--Sempronia's story is a vital one, and Laelia Sapiens (praised later by Cicero for the purity of her Latin) was an interesting if somewhat exaggerated character.