From the dust jacket- In Ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common—murder. Romulus killed Remus to found the city, Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater, Claudius was poisoned at dinner, and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered.
But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.
Review- A fantastic book about ancient Rome, the history of murder, and murder in history. Southon is very knowledgeable in her field but even better she is an excellent writer. She knows how to make the history she is telling interesting and funny. Southon is funny! I loved reading this book, not just because it was well researched and about a subject I am very interested in but because Southon made it fun to read. Now that said, she does take her subjects seriously but the humor helped the discussion of some very distasteful acts of murder and other related crimes. Everything about murder in ancient Rome was discussed from murdering slaves to murdering an emperor, nothing to small for Southon to bring the reader. I enjoyed every minute of this book and I can’t wait to read whatever she writes next.
I give this book a Five out of Five stars. I get nothing for my review and I borrowed this book from my local library.
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