Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - The Emperor's Babe

This was a lovely story - as someone who studied Latin for a while and is Black, it is really nice to hear about people like me living in Roman Britain (because we've been here since then!)

This story is set in Roman Britain, but is not completely accurate - there are references to the modern day but I think it works well to put things in perspective for a modern audience (for example, some gladiators are referred to with the names of famous wrestlers, to compare how they were treated - being extremely famous for doing acts of violence). If you're looking for a truly historically accurate tale, maybe don't pick this one up.

A surprisingly emotional end -

I wish there had been a little more time spent on Zuleika's grief, but I really liked the last few chapters - it added to the tragedy of the story.

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lynxpardinus's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

3.5

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bootrat's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

A really funny and unique book, that's a great mix of modern and ancient. It follows the life of Zuleika from age 11 to 18, in Roman London. It's fairly light-hearted, despite her being a child bride and becoming a slave owner. The mix of poetry and prose is really good, especially in audiobook form which flows so well together - though I can see this being more difficult to read in another format.

I loved the inclusion of a trans woman among her group of friends (despite the mild transphobia that comes from this being written in 2001), as well as the blase attitude towards homosexuality and the sex positive nature of the book.

A great short read and an enjoyable story even though the end is a little sad.

Warnings:
Though the main character is a child by today's standards the book is written with the (however mistaken) understanding that life expectancy at the time was around 40 so the events in the book take the character to almost middle age. Despite knowing Zuleika's age I mostly pictured her as a woman in her 20-30s, living life in the way that somebody of that age would in today's world.

Also, the rape mentioned in the content warnings is in the context of child marriage and the expected "marital duties" that accompany that. It isn't described in detail.

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ecster's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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chaos_fairy's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Set in Roman Britain, told in blank verse with a modern twist, about a young Black girl married off by to a middle-aged Roman; a refreshing read in a world of white-washed historical fiction, we get to see a more demographically accurate Londinium 211 AD — a fledgling commercial centre in the northern reaches of an empire ruled by the Libyan-born Septimius Severus, populated by not only native Bretons but also migrants from across the Roman Empire and beyond, including the main character’s Sudanese parents.

Evaristo infuses the narrative with modern language, a device I love in historical fiction when done well. Rather than using formal, ornate language common in historical fiction, Evaristo uses, modern slang, idioms and innuendos, differing speech patterns for peasants and merchants, soldiers and senators — far from what some might call historical inaccuracy (what would be accurate about Roman Britain speaking anything close to 20th century English, anyway?), the contemporary storytelling allows a more authentic relationship between the reader and the characters.

The writing is well-paced and entertaining, and both witty and insightful. It deals with difficult topics — Zuleika is married and experiences sex as a girl, before she can learn to understand desire. But it also paints a world where pleasure, joy and love are always possible.

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leanneymu's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I feel really conflicted about this one. I normally love Everisto's whiting, and I actually found the verse form pretty easy to get into, but a lot of the characters, dialogue and attitudes felt very early 2000s in a way that was quite alienating. While all the characters felt believable, I struggled with the everyone's attitude to the character of Venus in particular (including her attitude to herself). I also found the adult/minor relationship, although believable for the Roman time period, a bit hard to stomach. Probably my least favourite novel by this author so far, but I will definitely continue to read the rest of her back-catalogue, as I loved Mr Loverman and Girl, Woman, Other.

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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

After reading Manifesto I wanted to pick up one of Evaristo’s two books that I hadn’t read. Since one of them isn’t her best work (her opinion not mine) I opted for The Emperor’s Babe. Set in Londinium in 211AD,It’s the story of a young Sudanese woman who married to a much older man, and goes on to have an affair with the visiting Emperor. It was a joyous delight to read. It’s a novel in verse - and the poetry really shines. I especially loved the combination of Latin and Cockney rhyming slang. Talk about a unique pairing yet it really highlighted Zuleika’s wit and verve. She was an unabashed and irrepressible character who really leapt off the page. Although ostensibly set 1800 years ago it feels fresh and relevant today. Power imbalances due to gender, wealth and race sadly did not decline with the Roman Empire.

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schorlett's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny informative medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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