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spacestationtrustfund's review against another edition
2.0
I loathe Procopius, not only because of how he himself loathed women, but I won't deny that's a major contributor. He is also, for someone writing about the craziest gossip this side of the Columnae Herculis, unbelievably boring. But there are some interesting tidbits herein, such as the following, which my brain helpfully turned into a very detailed image that will now haunt my nightmares:
Spoiler
"...and even though she made use of all three of her orifices, she often found fault with nature, complaining that nature had not made the holes of her nipples larger so that she could devise another variety of intercourse there."gstarfelt's review against another edition
2.0
I'm halfway tempted to describe this as fiction- it really does read more like a political hit piece than an actual history of the reign of Justinian. Despite that, it IS an entertaining read. The picture Procopius paints of the Byzantine imperial court has a definite salacious appeal. Though I believe very, very little of what he has to say about Theodora.
drowninginhistory's review against another edition
3.0
Delightfully scandalous and gossipy! I do wish the Penguin edition came with more context for certain events Procopius alluded to because he would frequently make mention of something he expected the reader to know all about. If I had no prior knowledge of this period, I would have struggled with it because of that. In some cases, it's difficult to take what he says seriously but that's the fun of it--is he being serious or is it all a satire?
fictionesque's review against another edition
3.0
Do not get this edition, the introduction is hilariously woman-hating and often assumes that the author is completely truthful and objective, which to me seems unrealistic and oversimplified since the veracity of this text is so highly contested. The text itself is fascinating, though. Will be reading more on Theodora, hopefully from a more intelligent historian than wrote this intro.
emmagetz's review against another edition
4.0
So I didn't realize until I was reading this that it wasn't just a coincidence and Donna Tartt actually named her book after this one, which is neat. Anyway, Procopius is really bitter and has some issues he really should have worked out on his own but this was fun and actually very amusing
jvan's review against another edition
2.0
Without having read the rest of Procopius (which I'm not even sure still exists) there are lots of gaps in this history--it's meant as a supplement revealing the secrets behind the recorded information. The writing is overblown, the details are in many cases clearly skewed, and though I'm glad I have finally read it (my first attempt was probably 20 years ago) it's not really something I'd recommend.
mvuijlst's review against another edition
3.0
Ik moest mezelf elke pagina herinneren dat dit wel degelijk de Heilige Justinianus en de Heilige Theodora waren, waar Procopius over aan het schrijen was. En de nobele Belisarius, waar Robert Graves zo mooi over schreef.
Machtig: roddel, schandaal, ontrouw, sex, ruzie, achterklap. Koppel dat aan onmetelijke rijkdom en baas van de gekende wereld, en het wordt bij tijden hallucinant.
Machtig: roddel, schandaal, ontrouw, sex, ruzie, achterklap. Koppel dat aan onmetelijke rijkdom en baas van de gekende wereld, en het wordt bij tijden hallucinant.