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

Loved it!

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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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The book is fantastic. Emma Southon is a new favourite of mine. I prefer Imogen Church's narration (she narrated Southon's other book about Agrippina). this narrator of this book has some interesting pronunciations of words which jar like 'dude' pronounced like the name 'Jude' and 'Pliny' pronounced Ply-knee (ply like plywood). but most annoyingly there are two glitches in the recording where it skips some words. e.g in Pasiphae chapter.

Glitchy recording but great book

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