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  • A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

  • Murder in Ancient Rome
  • Written by: Emma Southon
  • Narrated by: Sophie Ward
  • Length: 11 hrs and 12 mins
  • 4.5 out of 5 stars (37 ratings)

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A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum cover art

A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

Written by: Emma Southon
Narrated by: Sophie Ward
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Publisher's Summary

An entertaining and informative look at the unique culture of crime, punishment, and killing in ancient Rome

In ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common - murder. Romulus killed Remus to found the city; Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater; Claudius was poisoned at dinner; and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered.

But what did killing mean in a city where gladiators fought to the death to sate a crowd? In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Emma Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside ancient Rome’s darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life and death and what it means to be human.

©2021 Emma Southon. Published in 2021 by Abrams Press, an imprint of ABRAMS, New York. All rights reserved (P)2021 Blackstone Publishing
  • Unabridged Audiobook
  • Categories: History

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Roman history refreshed

A wonderful new view of the Roman Empire. As entertaining as it is informative. Please! More history like this,

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Entertaining. Funny. Educational

Hilarious and thoughtful look at murder in Roman times. Found it was well performed. Especially with the authors quips

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Scary attitudes can amuse

In a flippant manner, using current colloquial language, Ward makes the dehumanization of POWs and the enslaved by ancient Roman’s clear, and even amusing in a bitter irony way.

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Hilariously Serious and Silly

The narrator does a great job at communicating how serious the Romans understood death as entertainment. It was also nice how she brought it full circle at the end by listing all the types of "murder' described in the book.

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