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A review by ambaright
Agrippina: The Most Extraordinary Woman of the Roman World by Emma Southon
funny
informative
medium-paced
3.5
Agrippina is the daughter of an Imperator, the sister, niece, wife, and mother of emperors. However, she is more than these labels. She pioneered a new role for imperial woman, an active, powerful role that stepped outside the boundaries of acceptable female behavior. Through senatorial political intrigue, assassination attempts, and exile to a small island, to the heights of imperial power, thrones, and golden cloaks and games and adoration, Agrippina scaled the absolute limits of female power in Rome. Her biography is also the story of the first Roman imperial family--the Julio-Claudians--and of the glory and corruption of the empire itself.
Emma Southon’s writing is entertaining to say the least, taking a more humorous approach to telling Roman history. She does an excellent job making the complex web of the Julio-Claudians empire as understandable and easy as she possibly can. However, I also felt that this humorous and modern view within the book came at a detriment once you hit the middle, as it slowly became tiring to constantly weave through Southon’s opinions and interpretations of the sources and trying to get to the heart of the book, which is the history of Agrippina’s life. I will say, given the limited scope of information recorded on Agrippina, Southon likely did her best with what she had to work with, hence the large amount of her own speculations. All that to say, I still highly recommend this feminist perspective book on one of the most badass women in history.
Emma Southon’s writing is entertaining to say the least, taking a more humorous approach to telling Roman history. She does an excellent job making the complex web of the Julio-Claudians empire as understandable and easy as she possibly can. However, I also felt that this humorous and modern view within the book came at a detriment once you hit the middle, as it slowly became tiring to constantly weave through Southon’s opinions and interpretations of the sources and trying to get to the heart of the book, which is the history of Agrippina’s life. I will say, given the limited scope of information recorded on Agrippina, Southon likely did her best with what she had to work with, hence the large amount of her own speculations. All that to say, I still highly recommend this feminist perspective book on one of the most badass women in history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder