Monsters and Monarchs: Serial Killers in Classical Myth and History

by Debbie Felton

Jack the Ripper. Jeffrey Dahmer. John Wayne Gacy. Locusta of Gaul. If that last name doesn’t seem to fit with the others, it’s likely because our modern society largely believes that serial killers are a recent phenomenon. Not so, argues Debbie Felton—in fact, there’s ample evidence to show that serial killers stalked the ancient world just as they do the modern one.

Felton brings this evidence to light in Monsters and Monarchs, and in doing so, forces us to rethink the assumption that serial killers arise from problems unique to modern society. Exploring a trove of stories from classical antiquity, she uncovers mythological monsters and human criminals that fit many serial killer the highway killers confronted by the Greek hero Theseus, such as Procrustes, who tortured and mutilated their victims; the Sphinx, or “strangler,” from the story of Oedipus; child-killing demons and witches, which could explain abnormal infant deaths; and historical figures such as Locusta of Gaul, the most notorious poisoner in the early Roman Empire. Redefining our understanding of serial killers and their origins, Monsters and Monarchs changes how we view both ancient Greek and Roman society and the modern-day killers whose stories still captivate the public today.

Genres: Nonfiction, History

272 pages, Kindle Edition

Published July 27, 2021

Reviews

[Andy Gooding-Call · Rating 3 out of 5]

I received this book for free in exchange for a fair review. The premise is great, the cases presented are interesting, but the evidence for the argument is sparse. The book makes a lot of leaps regarding potential ancient and mythological Roman and Greek serial killers, which is both understandable (given the lack of data available) and too bad, since the idea that historical figures like Locusta of Gaul might have been serial killers comfortable within a certain, more murder-friendly context is an interesting one that I’d love to hear a criminologist’s take on. Despite its weaknesses, I’ve found that it has reminded me about all the classical literature I’ve been meaning to read, and I did finish it and found it fairly engaging.

[Victoria · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book a lot! I’m not usually a big true-crime/serial killer fan, but I love the intertwining of history with myth. I think Felton writes an accessible book and a good entry for anyone looking at crime in the ancient world. As she says, a lot of academic books can be overly pedantic, so I appreciate that her writing is engaging and factual. She also has an excellent bibliography.

[Emma · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a former student of Prof Felton, I really enjoyed being taken on to one of her classes again. The book does move slowly at times, but is mostly a very interesting, fun, and quick read. Definitely recommend!

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

The issue with this book is it has some factual errors in it. Ones that I caught, which may be minor, but it calls in the whole work. How am I supposed to believe anything?