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A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Murder in Ancient Rome

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A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

By: Emma Southon
Narrated by: Sophie Ward
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About this listen

An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in ancient Rome

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 and death and what it means to be human.

©2021 Emma Southon. Published in 2021 by Abrams Press, an imprint of ABRAMS, New York. All rights reserved (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing Ancient Crime Murder Rome True Crime Funny Witty Thought-Provoking Feel-Good Ancient History
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Before listening to this book I knew little about the Romans and their way of life. It is interesting to see the way people used to live and how much of our attitudes have not really changed. The jokes in the book got a bit annoying by the end but it was easy to listen to and would recommend to anyone wanting to find out more about Roman society.

Entertaining and informative

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Very interesting to have the facts put together
Many of those murders we know but it is told with details which makes a book about murders very enjoyable

Interesting

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I know I Claudius back to front and the Robert Harris Cicero novels by heart …. Southon adds a whole new level of erudite access to that fascinating area of history. I love Mary Beard - but even that modern historian just roles her eyes at the excesses of the subject - Southon calls it like it is - with all the expletives necessary. Her knowledge of the subject is astonishing - and she brings it to an accessible and fascinating level. Really - an author to watch!

Emma Southon - the new Mary Beard

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Great fun, totally enlightening and very well written. Sophie Ward’s reading is absolutely spot on.

Loved it!

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This could have been an informative and very interesting book. It has obviously been well-researched and brings in substantial evidence and some critical analysis. However, the whole thing was marred by the liberal use of unecessary swearing which did nothing to add to the text and became extremely irritating, especially as the narrator has a manner of speaking that is totally incongruous with this stlyle of expression. Frequent use of 'fucking', 'prick', 'twat' and even 'titting Christ' spoiled what could have been an excellent read. I will not bother with any other work by this author.

Good info spoiled by swearing

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