★ 09/18/2023

Historian Southon (A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum) surveys 1,100 years of Roman history in this expert and wittily conversational narrative. By profiling 21 relatively unknown women, Southon presents a “whole new history” that is “closer to the version the Romans told themselves.” Skillfully parsing sometimes limited and biased sources, Southon depicts her subjects as complex human beings. Hersilia, a Sabine woman kidnapped by the Romans (c. 750 BCE) who became Romulus’s wife, is the first woman to appear by name in a Roman text. She may have prevented a full-scale war between the Romans and Sabines when she spoke publicly about how she and the other kidnapped Sabine women had adjusted to their new lives, which bound the two groups into a familial relationship. Julia Felix, who probably died in the 79 CE Vesuvius eruption in Pompeii, made money as a property owner, demonstrating the possibilities of independence for adult, single, middle-class women of the Roman empire. Claudia Severa’s affectionate letters to Sulpicia Lepidina in 100 CE show life in a Roman military outpost in northern England as more social and familial than depicted in male-centered histories and provide a window into female friendships. Southon’s crisp characterizations, snappy assessments of existing histories, and breezy narrative style will enchant fans of ancient history and women’s history. It’s a delight. Illus. (Nov.)

An irreverent … lively, alternative history.

The women in Southon’s book are nuanced, fearless and thanks to Southon’s brilliant storytelling, unforgettable: ambitious kingmakers, charming courtesans, political actors, brave survivors and proud poets. Funny, original, and often moving, this is exactly the type of book I wish I could have read when I was younger.

A Rome of One’s Own is a fantastic read. It is sparkling, irreverent and entertaining, while still being clear and informative, and the focus on the often-ignored women's stories is long overdue. Where was Emma Southon when I studied Roman history!?

Clever, bold, and refreshingly feminist; readers will be engaged and entertained to the very end. This book deserves a home on library shelves to balance patriarchal nonfiction collections. More histories like this are needed.”

Emma Southon is a truly original voice in popular historical writing. She has this amazing ability to take everything you thought you knew about Roman history, turn it upside down, reorient it, and show it to you anew, all the while making you laugh uproariously because she is, frankly, hilarious. A Rome of One’s Own is the history book I didn’t know I needed but I now find indispensable—an instant classic.

“A Rome of One’s Own is hugely entertaining and illuminating. It is such an original way to look at the period, examining not only the women's lives but also what they represented to the Romans. Emma Southon brilliantly walks the line between humor and heartbreak, never shying away from the brutality some of the women endured, yet doing so with the lightest touch and managing to keep their humanity always in focus. I particularly enjoyed the huge range of characters—from Julia Felix the smart, Pompeii entrepreneur to Julia Caesar, the Emperor's daughter – which took us on the broadest possible sweep of Roman society. A thoroughly engaging read.

“A Rome of One’s Own is a whip-smart and revelatory read. Emma Southon brings us ‘the story of Rome as told through women’—women like a priestess, a businesswoman, and a poet; women who were queens, rebels, scapegoats, and survivors. This is the history you didn’t know you needed from a writer who should be on everyone’s radar.

Southon gives a fresh sense of Roman civilization... She presents ordinary, ‘small’ lives as extraordinary… This is not just a book about the lives of historical women, but one about the history of womanhood… delightful… Southon’s book is a testament to those who were determined not to be left voiceless.

[An] expert and wittily conversational narrative . . . Skillfully parsing sometimes limited and biased sources, Southon depicts her subjects as complex human beings . . . Southon’s crisp characterizations, snappy assessments of existing histories, and breezy narrative style will enchant fans of ancient history and women’s history. It’s a delight.”

She presents ordinary, ‘small’ lives as extraordinary…This is not just a book about the lives of historical women, but one about the history of womanhood…delightful.”

At first, Danielle Cohen's performance and Emma Southon's text both seem to come on too strong, trying too hard to be brassy and smart-alecky. But this history of Rome told through the stories of Roman women, legendary and historical, soon shows itself to be thoughtful and deeply informative, and is often amusing in its snarky, sassy, profane way. Cohen's sharp, sometimes acid, tone and manner match Southon's breezy contemporary take on ancient history. Her excellent comedic expressiveness and timing, her cheery delivery of off-color language, and her intelligent understanding of the nuances of story enhance the smart and irreverent text. Perhaps not for all tastes--tolerance of patriarchy-bashing and swearing are required--it's energetic, never boring, and frequently funny, an impudent, but thoroughly educational, enjoyment. W.M. © AudioFile 2024, Portland, Maine