It is true that "well behaved women rarely make history" and Emma Southon's Agrippina introduces us to a woman who embodied that very motto. Simultaneously described as an Empress, exile, hustler, and whore, Agrippina, undoubtedly, made her mark in the Roman Empire. What makes Southon’s book so compelling is that, for the first time, she is portrayed as a protagonist of her own story and not a fringe character in the lives of the males around her. The reader is left with the feeling that an icon has finally received her due. ( )

Refreshingly clear language. Now I want to watch "I, Claudius" again. ( )

I feel like I make up for my lack of interest in true crime and soap operas by eating up the ridiculousness of Roman history. And here, Emma Southon does a lot of good stuff. I really enjoyed her feminist interpretations of the history and the historians, and I really, really liked that she is constantly self-aware and acknowledges that history is never, ever objective. It reminded me a lot of Stacy Schiff's [b: Cleopatra: A Life|7968243|Cleopatra A Life|Stacy Schiff|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1294098301l/7968243._SY75_.jpg|12020129], but funnier. The prose is littered with pop culture references and more snark than you'd think possible, though while I find it amusing to compare the Julio-Claudians to the Bluths, I do wonder how long those allusions will hold up in the grand scheme of things. There also comes a point where keeping track of anyone who is not a primary (or maybe prominent secondary) character becomes futile, but the drama is so off-the-wall, it kinda doesn't even matter. Maybe it's even more difficult to follow if you weren't a teenager obsessed with the days off in Latin class where you got to watch episodes of I, Claudius. A little extra bonus for Latin nerds--I listened to the audio and didn't have the text in front of me, but it sure seemed like the reader Teri Schnaubelt actually pronounced Latin words and names traditionally, and not that silly church Latin.

It's narratives like these that continue to make me wonder how humans have managed to survive this long. Definitely reading more of Southon's work. ( )

This is an excellent biography of one of the most important female figures during the early Roman Imperial period- Agrippina was the sister of Caligula, wife of Claudius, and mother of Nero.

Despite the paucity of written sources, the author does an excellent job of source analysis when evaluating incomplete or contradictory information. The author also has a conversational writing style which is unusual and refreshing. My only criticism is that often the author inserts her personal feminist ideologies, unfortunately sometimes resulting in speculation that has no basis in fact.

Nonetheless, a very interesting and recommended read! ( )