Greco-Roman history is probably where I get the most of my nonfiction reading done. I loved books like "Cleopatra: a Life" and "The Death of Caesar". So if you enjoy books like this then I think you will enjoy "A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum". It is well researched and gives quite the interesting perspective on life and death within the roman world.

4-4.5/5 stars. Check out my video review here.

Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an eARC in exchange for a fair and honest review.

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome is a fascinating and informative exploration of the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in Ancient Rome. This book delves into the complex and often murky history of murder in Rome, examining real-life homicides from Roman history to explore the society's views on life, death, and what it means to be human. The book is engaging and easy to read, and Dr. Southon's personal anecdotes add a touch of humor to the otherwise dark subject matter. While the book is a light and enjoyable read, it is also packed with information and offers a unique perspective on the role of murder in Ancient Rome.

Note: this review was written by me but modified by the openAI chatbot to improve it.

If you’re looking for fun nonfiction, this is about as good as it gets.

Emma Southon hit the pitch perfect tone for me for a history writer: Wry, sharp, and just the tiniest bit absurdist when then content calls for it.

For those with some background in Ancient Roman history, a lot of the information in this book will be familiar to you. But it’s worth a read anyway because Southon’s presentation is so exceptional, and also because the point she’s trying to make about all of this is a unique perspective that makes the old facts feel new and riveting.

And if you’re new or newish to Ancient Rome, not to worry: This book doesn’t require much background knowledge to get this gist, so it works for those without academic experience with the topic as well.

Southon’s discussions of what exactly constitutes murder and how that definitions shifts and evolves across socio-contextual landscapes is enthralling, and her bon mots and hilariously snide but notably prescient asides make for a spectacularly good time for the reader.

Delighted to include this title in Crimes & Misdemeanours, the true crime and mystery lovers list in my thematic seasonal holiday gift books guides for Zoomer magazine. It appeared in the Books section in December. (The listicle is online at related link.)

I loved this! It satisfied the nerdy, history loving teen that I was, and it made me really happy. It reminds me a little bit of 'the song of achilles' but more humorous and satire-ish. All in all, I really liked it! Excited to see what else the author writes :)

I wrote about or featured this title on my blog and will provide the details directly to the publisher in the next round of this review process.

This book just made my nerdy, Ancient Rome loving heart so happy! I knew death and murder were viewed differently in those times but there was so much about the laws that I didn’t know about that was covered in this book. Emma Southon has a way of making what is usually an exhaustingly boring subject rather entertaining. I thoroughly enjoyed reading through the history and different types of murder in Ancient Rome.

Imagine your best friend is a giant history nerd in addition to being extremely sarcastic, and you'll get a gist of the tone of this book. This is a hilarious recounting of deaths in Ancient Rome, and if you're worried about being bored by murder laws or family histories--don't be, because the author knows that stuff is boring and says so, joyfully skipping over anything that is not completely necessary to understand the context of various deaths.

There is a lot of interesting information in this book and it is presented in a way that shows that 1) the author knows what she's talking about and 2) the author knows what is and isn't fun to read about. Overall, I highly recommend this to anyone interested in old, weird deaths and murders, especially if you like to read someone's jokes about history.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for providing a copy for review.

Is it weird to say that a book about murder was delightful? Because this book was honestly so entertaining. Emma Southon writes with such irreverence, particularly when it comes to the emperors, that it makes a subject like murder quite enjoyable. If you know anything about Ancient Rome you know they really enjoyed killing off their leaders and senators....and really anyone else that didn't fall in line. I found myself highlighting a lot of really great, random references like the following. "In a move of extraordinary ballsiness, Clodius went full Shaggy in court and declared that it wasn't him in Caesar's house because he hadn't even been in Rome that day." When was the last time you read a history book with references to Shaggy and Monty Python? Never more than likely.
If you don't like this, or authors who interject comments on repetitive names and things like, "bear with me we're getting to the good stuff", this might not be for you. These things aside, the research is really well done and the author balances these with a lot of respect for the murders of the common people. Surprising no one, they really really didn't care when the murder was of a slave or anyone deemed expendable. While I feel that having an idea of who the major players are, the author does a good job of making it relatable to readers who are not well versed in Ancient Rome. I highly recommend this one, if for no other reason than it was nice to see some of these emperors knocked off their pedestals a bit.

I haven't spent a lot of time feeling grateful for being alive in the current age, but I should probably reconsider that. Because, according to this book, being alive during the Roman Empire was horrifying, gruesome, and very stabby (if you weren't a disgustingly rich male Roman citizen, of course). Even then, quite a few rich Roman guys and even emperors experienced the stabby part.

Some things I learned about the Roman government's attitude towards murder:
Murder of citizens: "eh, not our problem"
Murder of slave by master: "well deserved"
Murder of criminals: “dress them up in costumes and feed them to the beasts so the public has a grand time”
Parricide: "WHAT NOW?? ACTIVATE THE FULL FORCE OF JUSTICE"

In short, the Roman government’s lack of consideration for human life was staggering. Their culture, beliefs, and laws when it comes to the sanctity of life are so far removed from ours. Nevertheless, I really enjoyed this glimpse into all the forms of Ancient Roman murder – legal or otherwise. The author’s tone made it very entertaining, which is not something you would typically say about a murder book.

I know it's very early in the year but this is honestly one of the best books I've read and I'm certain it's going in my Top 2021 Reads list.

This was unexpectedly laugh-out-loud hilarious which is not what you'd reckon a non-fiction-true-crime-ancient-history book would be. This was such a joy to read and the humour is so well-done that it doesn't overshadow or disrespect the material. I love reading history books, both academic and non-academic ones, but even I find a good number of them to either be quite dry or too sensational. That is not the case with this book. I am so in love with Southon's writing and her ability to keep things interesting without the subject being muddled.

The book flows really nicely from chapter to chapter and the chapters build on each other well. Even if you don't know much about Ancient Rome, I don't think you'd feel lost. It has chapter endnotes (it might be footnotes on the physical copy) and a good glossary, making this book fairly accessible to non-academics.

As a history buff/student, I greatly appreciated Southon's handling of sources. She actually cites sources in-text and gives context of who they were writing for, when they were writing, and their probable biases.

I honestly wish I could have had Southon as a professor. Her passion for the subject is clearly reflected in her work.

If you like history or true crime, or both, or you just want to pick up an entertaining and educational read, this is the book for you.

My degree is in East Asian history, so it goes without saying that I am a huge history nerd. One of the gaps in my knowledge is Roman history. I know the important bits, the stuff you learn in survey courses and what not. So I was super excited to get the opportunity to read a book featuring history and murder and I wasn't disappointed. Dr. Emma Southon is an expert in her field and it shows, but that's only part of the story. She makes each story fun and engaging to read, even though the end result is death. But its not all blood and poison, Dr. Southon also boils down the complicated boring bits so the reader gets some of the important background without feeling like they are getting an info dump. There were several parts that had me laughing out loud, garnering some concerned looks from my children. I had such a great time reading this that I will definitely be seeking out more works by Dr. Emma Southon, including her podcast History is Sexy.

Thank you Netgalley for making a free copy available for me to read in exchange for an honest review.

Southon takes the reader through the Roman Empire and shows just who relative the idea of murder is. Amazingly to the modern audience, the government almost never got involved when one person killed another - it was a private matter for families to deal with. And often seen as no big deal if it was "just" a slave. Southon works hard to give voice to the voiceless across centuries, and find the few names recorded of the many nameless who were abused in life and cast aside in death.

And then there were the high level kills - killing emperors and other high ranking politicians as an almost daily way to get political work done, and, wow, its scary that that has suddenly become relevant this first week of January, 2021.

Southon has a light, breezy tone, irrelevantly comparing ancient history to modern reality shows, humorously cracking jokes throughout, but underneath that you can feel her rage towards the marginalized who never received justice and at how casually the Romans treated human life.

Romans of the Republic and Empire were basically the same as people always have been, but Emma Southon points to the many ways the structure of their society promulgated attitudes far different than ours. As you may have noticed, there were quite a few political assassinations. To the Romans those killings weren't murder. They were homicide, but not criminal. It was mostly up to the affected parties to sort things out. The victim's family would decide on what, if any action was needed. But that family encompassed more members than a modern family. It might look more like a clan or even a gang. And since the society was dependent on slaves killing someone else's slave was a crime, but what an owner did to his own slaves was his own business. There was plenty of judicial killing too, and it was very public and very cruel. Southon explains and explores the intricacies of homicide in Roman society clearly with many examples. Her style (and language) may put off some people. It didn't bother me as it's the way I talk about history to friends who aren't interested in history. She may at times seem sarcastic or flippant, but this is an extensively researched book with a serious intent.

I’m certain many people would enjoy this book, with its light tone and jokey asides about murder in Ancient Rome. I, however, just didn’t care for it. I dislike nonfiction writing in which the author inserts his or herself into the narrative, so the repeated use of “I” turned me off to the point where I had to stop reading. It’s a matter of personal taste, and many readers will no doubt find the writer’s style very entertaining.

From the consequence of the rape of Lucretia which ended up forming the Republic of Rome to the beating of young Tiberius to the sickening killing of ten-year-old Julia Restuta to Sulla's hunger for power to slow deaths of Vestal Virgins to brutally crucifying Christians, violence reigned supreme. But what was classified as homicide and what was merely killing? The author answers this and multitudinous questions, many of which I've had and many I hadn't thought of. Simply put, this witty and intelligent book is endlessly fascinating. My trips to Rome and these gripping stories give life to the people and barbaric practices of the time.

As Rome had no police force or investigators, crimes went largely unpunished...IF they were considered crimes. Hadrian finally took notice and made some changes. But Romans soon yawned in boredom. They needed blood. The more the better. Prolonged tortures and deaths became more desirable and public in the amphitheater. Non-Romans, slaves, thieves and women were subhuman and therefore expendable without regard. People were killed for the sake of killing and entertainment to garner favour for evil emperors. Family murders were private so not considered murder.

Thanks to copious research and information in this book, I learned more about Roman history than ever. I recommend to those who are not squeamish. Though witty, the language can be lewd. Not everyone will gravitate towards this style but this is definitely not a tedious textbook! Just know deaths are described in graphic detail but sadly this was reality in Rome.

My sincere thank you to Abrams Press and for providing me with an ARC of this enthralling book in exchange for an honest review. Much appreciated.

I requested this on a whim, just to have something different to read, and I am so happy that I did. In the hands of another author this could have been a dry history lesson, but Emma Southon has turned it into a romp through history. It is clear she is very well educated on the topic and has done extensive research, but she does an excellent job of eliminating some of the facts and details that the reader just doesn’t need while still carrying along the story. I loved her writing style and her ability to take all these characters with unpronounceable names (often with the same names) and make their stories interesting and the fact that she throws in a few F bombs along the way just makes it all that more entertaining. Usually non fiction books require a commitment to finish, but I looked forward to finding time to read this book. While her sense of humor, and colorful language, may not appeal to everyone I highly recommend this book.

Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum.

I'm a fan of Roman history (my favorite HBO series is Rome so I was already biased toward liking this ARC) so I was excited when my request was approved.

I have nothing but great things to say about this, starting with:

1. Great title and cover. Totally caught my attention!

2. Death was a part of life in the ancient world, but there was so much I didn't know (and did know from the HBO series Rome. And people say you don't learn anything from television!) about murder (and what it really means in the old timey not so fun timey world and modern world).

3. I love the sarcastic and amusing comments sprinkled throughout the narrative. It added a bit of levity and humor about a heavy topic.

4. I appreciated how the author divided murder into specific aspects of life, such as murder in politics, murder in family, murder as entertainment, and just as fun, murder within the royal family.

Ms. Southon selects three notable individuals for each section and readers get a firsthand account into how death by murder was treated in the ancient Roman world and how they gave more credence toward how you died rather than the fact that you...were dead.

5. Life revolves around death and vice versa but the author also demonstrates how the Romans treated murder when it came to their family, their women and their immense household, consisting of enormous amounts of slave labor.

Many things have changed since the ancient world, but as the author closes her fascinating book, murder never has gone out of fashion.

This was a fascinating, sometimes darkly humorous, enlightening read during an incredibly tumultuous time during Roman history.

This isn't for everyone but if you enjoy Roman history and/or murder in the ancient world, pick this up. You won't regret it!

This title hits the sweet spot between detailed history and erudite hilarity. Roman history is confusing and dull. Everyone has the same name and also multiple names. Southon makes it all easily digestible and fun. What struck me most about this book was how (frighteningly) relevant the chapter on political murders was.
Fans of true crime, and true crime comedy (murderinos) will love this title!

it was actually really interesting to read something about the way Ancient Rome used death and murder. It was a well informed read that always kept me invested.