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A review by mrsmarch
Livia, Empress of Rome: A Biography by Matthew Dennison
2.0
This is a really interesting book. The author makes connections and comes to good conclusions based in a sound appraisal of the existing sources and an understanding of then-current Roman outlook with no benefit of historical hindsight. This book could have been up there with Anthony Barrett's biography of Livia.
Yes, I said "could have."
I don't know why, but this book seems to have suffered from the lack of a good copyeditor. The author frequently chooses large or impressive words when a sharper one would have served, making the prose, in places, bulky and distracting. Maybe there was a copyeditor, but I can see so many places where further attention could have been paid to polish the outstanding raw material at hand.
I still highly recommend this book to serious readers of Roman history or women's history, but leave the caveat that the prose is rough through most of the book, particularly the second half, and may make for ornery reading.
Yes, I said "could have."
I don't know why, but this book seems to have suffered from the lack of a good copyeditor. The author frequently chooses large or impressive words when a sharper one would have served, making the prose, in places, bulky and distracting. Maybe there was a copyeditor, but I can see so many places where further attention could have been paid to polish the outstanding raw material at hand.
I still highly recommend this book to serious readers of Roman history or women's history, but leave the caveat that the prose is rough through most of the book, particularly the second half, and may make for ornery reading.