Emma Southon – författare

CSI: Ancient Rome – discover what everyday killings tell us about the Roman Empire and its people‘A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed.’ Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is HistoryIn 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 theatre, Claudius was poisoned at dinner.But what did killing really mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? Emma Southon examines real-life homicides from Roman history to take us inside Ancient Rome’s unique culture of crime and punishment, and show us how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.‘I love this funny, scholarly, erudite, irreverent book.’ Sarah Perry, author of The Essex Serpent‘Those left cold by the sober tones of scholarship will find this voice liberating and intoxicating. Its energy is boundless and its range immense.’ Wall Street Journal

Rome as you’ve never seen it before – brazenly unconventional, badly behaved and ever so feminine.‘Hugely entertaining and illuminating’ —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf DenA WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes…We kick off with Romulus murdering his brother, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. After ‘Et tu, Brute?’, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally nodding to a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women won’t do as they’re told, until Constantine invents Christianity only for Attila the Hun to come and ruin everything.Let’s tear up this script. The history of Rome and its empire is so much more than these ‘Important Things’.In this alternative history, Emma Southon tells another story about the Romans, one that lives through Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, empresses and saints.Discover how entrepreneurial sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovered a conspiracy of treason, human sacrifice and Bacchic orgies so wild they would make Donna Tartt blush, becoming one of Rome’s unlikeliest heroes.Book yourself a table at the House of Julia Felix and get to know Pompeii’s savviest businesswoman and restauranteur. Indulge in an array of locally sourced delicacies as you take in the wonderful view of Mount Vesuvius… what could possibly go wrong?Join the inimitable Septimia Zenobia, who – after watching a series of incompetent, psychopathic and incompetently psychopathic emperors almost destroy the Empire – did what any of us would do. She declared herself Empress, took over half the Roman Empire and ran it herself.

Rome as you’ve never seen it before – brazenly unconventional, badly behaved and ever so feminine. ‘Hugely entertaining and illuminating’ —Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den A WATERSTONES BEST HISTORY BOOK OF 2023 Here’s how the history of the Roman Empire usually goes… We kick off with Romulus murdering his brother, go on to Brutus overthrowing Tarquin, bounce through an appallingly tedious list of battles and generals and consuls, before emerging into the political stab-fest of the late Republic. After ‘Et tu, Brute?’, it runs through all the emperors, occasionally nodding to a wife or mother to show how bad things get when women won’t do as they’re told, until Constantine invents Christianity only for Attila the Hun to come and ruin everything. Let’s tear up this script. The history of Rome and its empire is so much more than these ‘Important Things’. In this alternative history, Emma Southon tells another story about the Romans, one that lives through Vestal Virgins and sex workers, business owners and poets, empresses and saints. Discover how entrepreneurial sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovered a conspiracy of treason, human sacrifice and Bacchic orgies so wild they would make Donna Tartt blush, becoming one of Rome’s unlikeliest heroes. Book yourself a table at the House of Julia Felix and get to know Pompeii’s savviest businesswoman and restauranteur. Indulge in an array of locally sourced delicacies as you take in the wonderful view of Mount Vesuvius… what could possibly go wrong? Join the inimitable Septimia Zenobia, who – after watching a series of incompetent, psychopathic and incompetently psychopathic emperors almost destroy the Empire – did what any of us would do. She declared herself Empress, took over half the Roman Empire and ran it herself.

By the end of the fifth century, with the structural collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, Western Europe had fallen into the so-called Dark Ages. With the power of Rome removed, the Catholic Church stepped in to fill the void. Its political rise, alongside that of the Germanic kingdoms, led to dramatic changes in law, politics, power, and culture. Against the backdrop of that upheaval, the family became a vitally important area of focus for cultural struggles related to morality, law, and tradition. This book explores those battles in order to demonstrate, through the family, the intersections between Roman and Christian legal culture, thought, and political power.

By the end of the fifth century, with the structural collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, Western Europe had fallen into the so-called Dark Ages. With the power of Rome removed, the Catholic Church stepped in to fill the void. Its political rise, alongside that of the Germanic kingdoms, led to dramatic changes in law, politics, power, and culture. Against the backdrop of that upheaval, the family became a vitally important area of focus for cultural struggles related to morality, law, and tradition. This book explores those battles in order to demonstrate, through the family, the intersections between Roman and Christian legal culture, thought, and political power.

By the end of the fifth century, with the structural collapse of the Roman Empire in the west, Western Europe had fallen into the so-called Dark Ages. With the power of Rome removed, the Catholic Church stepped in to fill the void. Its political rise, alongside that of the Germanic kingdoms, led to dramatic changes in law, politics, power, and culture. Against the backdrop of that upheaval, the family became a vitally important area of focus for cultural struggles related to morality, law, and tradition. This book explores those battles in order to demonstrate, through the family, the intersections between Roman and Christian legal culture, thought, and political power.

THE 'ELECTRIFYING' UNTOLD STORY OF SLAVERY IN THE ROMAN EMPIRE BY THE AUTHOR OF A FATAL THING HAPPENED ON THE WAY TO THE FORUM.'Excellent . . . a thoughtful and refreshing, intimate and disturbing insight into the workings of the Roman Empire' - Sunday Times'The most important book you'll ever read about ancient Rome.' - Rebecca Wragg Sykes, author of KINDREDWe associate the Romans with majesty and greatness: we marvel at their straight roads and innovative underfloor heating, at the dominance of their army and navy, at the grandeur of their palaces and temples. But the Romans were also enslavers. They built an empire on the backs of millions of people snatched from their homes in the aftermath of war, kidnapped from the streets, sold into slavery as punishment or, simply, born enslaved.Servus takes us into the invisible spaces of the Roman world, where millions of enslaved lives were unwillingly dedicated to the perpetuation of the empire that owned them. From the fields of wheat required to give every Roman their daily bread, to the actors and gladiators who provided their circuses, and the miners who kept Rome a city of gold and marble, enslaved people were the bedrock of the Roman Empire. These enslaved people were ubiquitous, but silenced. Through the fragments they left behind, historian Emma Southon traces the pain and tragedy of their lives alongside the love stories, lifelong friendships, small victories and hard-won freedoms.---ACCLAIM FOR SERVUS:'A much-needed corrective to centuries of obfuscations and misunderstandings. Servus is a challenging read yet a simultaneously sensitive and even entertaining one, striking that peculiar balance that . . . only Emma can fully achieve.' Jane Draycott, author of FULVIA'Electrifying, rousing and flowing with passion, this deeply researched book zips along in a way that defies expectation. What a skill Southon has for maintaining an energetic yet empathetic tone while bringing such dark realities to light.' - Daisy Dunn, author of THE MISSING THREAD'Forget white marble statues and philosophical debates: Emma Southon takes you on a journey through the hell of ancient slavery that defined the classical world as few other things - a true masterwork of historical enquiry. - Gabriel Zuchtriegel, Director General of Pompeii'From the gladiators forced to entertain to the miners who sourced Rome's marble, this illuminating piece of revisionist history looks at just how much the Roman Empire was built on the back of the people they enslaved.' -I Paper'One cannot fault the author for the passion with which she tackles this subject, or the vividness of her descriptions' - Literary Review

The fantastically funny new history series from best-selling author and chart-topping podcaster Greg Jenner takes on everything you need to know about Roman Britain!WINNER: THE WEEK JUNIOR AWARDS - CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: AUDIOBOOKThink history is just a boring list of facts and dates? Think again! History is hectic, exciting and unpredictable – in fact, it’s absolute CHAOS! Join bestselling author Greg Jenner on a riotously fun journey through Roman Britain, from brilliant beginnings to epic ending. Accompanied by expert Roman historian Dr Emma Southon and with side-splitting illustrations from Rikin Parekh, this whirlwind tour will cover everything you need to know about Roman Britain and show you what it would REALLY have been like to live through hundreds of years of chaotic history. Hold on tight, because, with history, you’ll never believe what happens next!

The fantastically funny new history series from best-selling author and chart-topping podcaster Greg Jenner takes on everything you need to know about Roman Britain!WINNER: THE WEEK JUNIOR AWARDS - CHILDREN'S BOOK OF THE YEAR: AUDIOBOOKThink history is just a boring list of facts and dates? Think again! History is hectic, exciting and unpredictable – in fact, it’s absolute CHAOS! Join bestselling author Greg Jenner on a riotously fun journey through Roman Britain, from brilliant beginnings to epic ending. Accompanied by expert Roman historian Dr Emma Southon and with side-splitting illustrations from Rikin Parekh, this whirlwind tour will cover everything you need to know about Roman Britain and show you what it would REALLY have been like to live through hundreds of years of chaotic history. Hold on tight, because, with history, you’ll never believe what happens next!

An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in ancient RomeIn ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in commona "e;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 fifty-year period, twenty-six 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 Romes darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life and death and what it means to be human.

From acclaimed author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum and historian Emma Southon, a groundbreaking history of Ancient Rome that explores how the empire was built, fueled, and shaped by its enslaved people.When Julius Caesar conquered Gaul he boasted that he killed a million Gauls and enslaved a million more. This is the truth about the Roman empire: Rome could not function without slavery as it underpinned every single part of their economy. Without the millions of people snatched from their homes in the aftermath of war, kidnapped from the streets, sold into slavery as punishment, or born into it as ';home bred slaves', the Roman empire's great aqueducts and temples could never have been built. There would be no coins or tiles to find in fields, no limitless manpower for the army and navy that conquered the Mediterranean, no marble palaces or underfloor heating, and certainly no life of unimaginable luxury for the one percent who didn't even tie their own shoes. For the first time, Not Built in a Day tells their stories. Not Built in a Day takes readers into the invisible spaces of the Roman empire, where the millions of enslaved lives perpetuated the excesses of the empire that owned them. From the fields of wheat required to give every Roman his daily bread, to the actors and gladiators who provided their circuses; from the guards who kept the streets of Rome safe and the mines which kept Rome a city of gold and marble, to the builders who placed every brick in the Colosseum. It traces how people entered, experienced, and left slavery, covering the little known story of slave revolts and the complex realities of enslaved people who themselves owned enslaved people. Not Built in a Day also explores the lives of those freed from slavery, finally able to choose their own destinies. With humor, wit, and expertise, Emma Southon invites us into the absurdity of Roman life and completely upends our idea of the Roman empire.

CSI: Ancient Rome – discover what everyday killings tell us about the Roman Empire and its people ‘A brilliant idea, brilliantly executed.’ Tom Holland, co-host of The Rest is History 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 theatre, Claudius was poisoned at dinner. But what did killing really mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? Emma Southon examines real-life homicides from Roman history to take us inside Ancient Rome’s unique culture of crime and punishment, and show us how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human. ‘Those left cold by the sober tones of scholarship will find this voice liberating and intoxicating. Its energy is boundless and its range immense.’ Wall Street Journal