Emma Southon gives us a fascinating look at a complex woman whom history has perhaps treated unfairly.
She starts by giving the reader reasons why the study of historical women is so difficult.
“… we have just three major literary sources that mention Agrippina with any detail, and a total of seven literary sources from the entire corpus of Latin literature that think she was interesting or significant enough to deserve a single line; one of which is a play.”
Like most women from history, Agrippina was mainly written about when she orbited important men. There’s also the difficulty of potential bias in the few sources we have.
“She can be seen only through the distorting lens of her relationship to other people and how well or badly she performed the ideal form of that relationship. It’s mostly badly, which is why we get to see so much of her.”
But what’s left when you take all of that into consideration is extraordinary. As the author points out, Agrippina was “the sister, niece, wife, and mother of emperors.” There are few from history who can claim the same.
Southon uses an informal style and words like “stabby” and “murdery”. I found her delivery rather hilarious and enjoyed it. If you’re turned off by this type of writing, you may want to choose another, more serious author.
She doesn’t neglect to remind readers of the context of every bit of Agrippina’s history or point out when the record is missing or falls silent. Sometimes, the gaps in the record speak even louder than what was written.
“The next year, however, Agrippina came roaring back into historical narratives in the most confusing possible way.”
I liked how Southon took complex concepts from Roman history and gave them to the reader in digestible chunks. For example, we get a glimpse of what portions of Agrippina’s wedding ceremony may have been like:
“First, Agrippina the Younger anointed the doorway with fat and wool. Basically, she smeared some kind of animal fat onto the door frame and then strung wool between the door posts, sticking the ends to the fat. Obviously that sounds both disgusting and bizarre, which it is, but this is very symbolic and serious. Probably as these things were brought out, the party atmosphere would die down and everyone would watch reverently as this little girl covered the door in goo.”
She goes on to examine the superstition of carrying the bride across the threshold of her new home which was another important part of the ceremony and nothing like the laughing, fun time it is today. It was interesting to me to juxtapose the modern viewpoint on these ancient traditions and see the glaring differences between the two.
Highly recommended for readers who like their non-fiction to sound like a conversation between friends. Southon makes the past come alive in a delightful read filled with scandals, power struggles and, of course, Rome.
Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an advance reader copy of this book, which is slated to go on sale tomorrow, August 6, 2019. The brief quotations I cited in this review may change or be omitted in the final copy.
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**Warning: minor spoilers ahead unless you’re familiar with Roman history.**
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