Reviews with content warning for Body horror - A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome

A really interesting read, particularly when the author covers how the life of women, enslaved people, and children were regarded in Rome. Her writing style really elevates the content and it reminded me of a true crime podcast (but one of the good ones where they actually respect the lives of the victims and don't just use them for entertainment value).

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sophiesaurus91's review against another edition

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dark funny informative reflective slow-paced

5.0

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bookstorian's review

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funny informative reflective medium-paced

3.0

After a dry spell on the audio book reading front, I found 'A fatal thing happened on the way to the forum: Murder in Ancient Rome' to funny, modern and highly informative. A good way to splash back into audio books.

A clever and relevant start, the book begins with some startling facts about true crime as a genre of fiction and how her book also connects with this genre. Using a range of sources Emma Southon details murder across all social classes and gender (men, women, slaves, emperors, wealthy families, few are left untouched). I loved the cheeky use of language and comparisons to modern life, it made the non-fictional work easy to digest. In addition, I learnt so much about Roman law, politics, family lives and justice (or injustice).

The only downfall for me was that the names at times became tricky to distinguish and, at times, moments of the book just washed over me. I would recommend making sure you complete at least one chapter per sitting rather than pausing part way through the chapter and coming back to it later.

The book encouraged me to recall information from my days as a history student and reminisce on my time in Rome. If you are a history lover or one of the millions of people obsessed with true crime, check this title out.

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vicious's review

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dark funny informative reflective medium-paced

5.0

I was super excited for this book having read and thoroughly enjoyed Dr. Southon's Agrippina book a few months ago, and I was not disappointed. Southon writes as if she were sitting across from you in a bar, telling you about Roman history over a few beers and some greasy fries. Her writing is engaging, fun, and interesting. I've never been one for Roman history, but she ignites an interest inside of me purely because she makes learning about it so fun.

This book is about the complicated definition of murder from a Roman standpoint, comparing it to a modern viewpoint to realistically put into perspective just how different today's world culture is from that of ancient Rome. It's very fascinating. If you're into true crime and/or Roman history, you will love it. If you, like me, are not into either, you may still take a liking to it as I have. If only all history books were written in such a fun and engaging manner maybe more people would be interested in history as a whole.

There are some hefty trigger warnings to take into account with this book as it does detail some brutal and gory deaths. Also, definitely keep a placeholder on the footnotes; they can be a joy to read and often provide additional information.

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