A review by michaelgreenreads
A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum: Murder in Ancient Rome by Emma Southon

dark funny informative medium-paced

4.25

 This book REALLY hits its stride 30% in and never lets up. It is excellent! 
 
FIRST: I adore Dr. Emma Southon’s “History is Sexy” podcast which combines detailed historical analysis with dick jokes, and that is the tone in this book.  It is accessible for non-academic audiences, with tongue in cheek banter in every paragraph. ♥️ If you get uncomfortable when history isn’t written in an “~*objective*~” voice, this is your warning that this is not for you. 
 
Dr. Emma Southon explores the bizarre ways Romans thought about murder and killing. She achieves what all my favourite non-fiction history reads do: 
 
🏛: She writes in a way that helps outline the exact limit of what we know and why. 
🏛: She puts in the effort to share perspectives from all levels of people, not just the elites who dominate histories. 
🏛: The footnotes were consistently detailed and useful! 
 
WHY YOU SHOULD PICK THIS UP: the writing is clear and compelling! The chapter on Roman slavery made me FEEL the horror of society-wide violence in a way a textbook would be afraid to do. It’s good! 
 
My only gripe is that Roman naming systems wrapped my brain around itself in confusion on multiple occasions. 😩😩😩 
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