Emma Southon

My expectations of works by Emma Southon are high, and she never disappoints. These stories of 21 women from Roman history give us quite a few surprises and a lot of different perspectives. They were chosen from the earliest days of Rome to the end of the Western Roman Empire, from the city itself but also from the frontiers of the empire. Southon describes their lives unflaggingly in her light, entertaining style, even though some of these stories are rather grim.

As Southon reminds us, women had an important role in Roman society, which was very family oriented indeed -- extended families were also political clans. But much of what we know about women in antiquity was written by men, and some of them, such as Juvenalis or Tacitus, wrote with undisguised misogyny. (Juvenalis’ notorious sixth satire is at least good satire in the sense that you cannot know whether the author intends his furious rant to be taken seriously or not.)

This book gives a wider and more honest perspective. Some of the women in this book are only known by what men wrote about them. (In one case, a lengthy eulogy by a bereaved husband.) But Southon also chose many women who wrote themselves and whose words have survived through the ages, a dismally small group. In letters, poetry, inscriptions and edicts, they make themselves heard. They are not always very sympathetic, and Southon is particularly snarky about the weird attitudes of some Christian saints. Maybe they didn’t all write well. But they lived, their often struggled bravely in their adversity, and they wrote. It is good that we can still hear their story.… (mehr)

The subject of this book--women in ancient Rome had important stories to tell--is compelling, but the writing style is terrible. The author (mis-)uses forced humor and overfamiliar language in a failed attempt to sound edgy. The final product reads like a series of unedited blog posts rather than a book that would have any lasting value. I had read the author's previous book and found similar style problems, but not to the extent that this latest book contains. I plan to read no other books by this author. Not recommended.… (mehr)

This is a very readable look at murder in ancient Rome divided (mostly) by victim type. The author differentiates murder early from mere homicide, and so it deals with not only what we as a culture consider murder, but also what the Romans did during their reign.

Overall, it's a good time, though I found the book's demarcation by type (women, slaves, emperors) difficult to ground myself in any time period as it obviously ranges so many centuries. Again, this works in its favor for the most part--It's fun and interesting to read by broad themes (who doesn't want to read about killing people with magic?), but it's more frustrating if you're a perfectionist and don't have a strong grasp of Roman history.

It ended up inspiring me to pick up Mary Beard's SPQR, but you might not even care about the larger history, so do with this as you will! It's a great podcast-like, easy read, but not anything to go crazy about.

Quick note: I LOVED the casual tone Southon struck and I could tell her educational background inspired it. There's nothing worse than stodgy classicists, and I would love to attend a lecture by her if not on the other side of the continent. This stuff is cool and fun and should live on, and I'm glad this is popular and readable. I'm just a (bit of a) snob.… (mehr)