A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women
£10.40
‘Hugely entertaining and illuminating’ —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den
Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes…
We kick off with Romulus murdering his brother, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. After ‘Et tu, Brute?’, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally nodding to a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women won’t do as they’re told, until Constantine invents Christianity only for Attila the Hun to come and ruin everything.
Let’s tear up this script. The history of Rome and its empire is so much more than these ‘Important Things’.
In this alternative history, Emma Southon tells another story about the Romans, one that lives through Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, empresses and saints.
- Discover how entrepreneurial sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovered a conspiracy of treason, human sacrifice and Bacchic orgies so wild they would make Donna Tartt blush, becoming one of Rome’s unlikeliest heroes.
- Book yourself a table the House of Julia Felix and get to know Pompeii’s savviest businesswoman and restauranteur. Indulge in an array of locally sourced delicacies as you take in the wonderful view of Mount Vesuvius… what could possibly go wrong?
- Join the inimitable Septimia Zenobia, who – after watching a series of incompetent, psychopathic and incompetently psychopathic emperors almost destroy the Empire – did what any of us would do. She declared herself Empress, took over half the Roman Empire and ran it herself.
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Additional information
| Publisher | Oneworld Publications (7 Sept. 2023) |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| File size | 1321 KB |
| Text-to-Speech | Enabled |
| Screen Reader | Supported |
| Enhanced typesetting | Enabled |
| X-Ray | Not Enabled |
| Word Wise | Enabled |
| Sticky notes | On Kindle Scribe |
| Print length | 421 pages |
by PootleFlump
It’s always good, and unfortunately still unusual, to see books centred around the lives of women in history. This one covers the Roman Empire through the lives of a wide variety of women and I really enjoyed it. Her style is chatty, very easy to read and often funny – not what you’d normally expect in a history book but makes a change and certainly doesn’t hide how knowledgeable the author is. Very entertaining and informative.
by Alec
A History of the Roman Empire is a book focusing on women throughout Roman history, too frequently ignored or forgotten about in favour of the men in their lives, when these women were also great (if not greater) in their own ways. I loved that each chapter focused on a different woman, so we really got to dive into her story and learn who she was and what Roman society was like for her. The book explored many periods of Roman history, including the introduction of Christianity into Rome and how this impacted women’s lives, which was interesting to read about. I have enjoyed the author’s other books and was very excited to read this one, and definitely very grateful to have been given the chance to read it! I loved the writing style, and the humour used in certain places really added to the fun and interesting feel the book had. I would love to read more books like this from the author, as I found that the topics were explained very well and the book kept my attention the whole time, and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I would recommend this to anyone interested in Roman history or in learning more about fascinating women in history. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher!
by j
I bought this book, so I could read about history without having to stop every 5 pages to take a break from the misogyny.
However, this book is almost worse than the normal history books I read.
The author exposes the misogyny of the Romans and the historians, but it’s hard to enjoy a book when a woman is referred to as a “useful womb, pumped full of babies” …and worse.
Southon is exposing misogyny rather than creating it – but it’s still incredibly painful to read.
I think the title is wrong. I picked up a book titled “history …in 21 women” to enjoy some female power WITHOUT thinking about the stereotypes we’ve faced.
Perhaps the book should be titled “A history of the misogyny … through 21 women”