A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
Murder in Ancient Rome
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A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
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Narrated by:
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Sophie Ward
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By:
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Emma Southon
About this listen
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 theatre, 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?
Emma Southon examines real-life homicides from Roman history to explore how perpetrator, victim and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's unique culture of crime and punishment, we see how the Romans viewed life, death and what it means to be human.
©2020 Emma Southon (P)2020 W. F. Howes LtdListeners also enjoyed...
What listeners say about A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Nicole
- 03-02-21
Great read
A witty & honest look at ancient murder with links to modern social norms. Really enjoyable read
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- The Curator
- 21-10-20
Popular history at its best.
Emma Southon has played a blinder here. A serious exploration of Roman attitudes to the killing of individuals which is explained in colloquial and conversational ways. Some will say that swearing undermines an argument but they’re being silly. And this brings me to my one disappointment. The narrator reads this book like Alexa would. How someone could fail to give life to the language here is beyond me but she gave me the impression she was too lofty to be saying things like “chinny reckon”. It just needed and deserved more life.
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1 person found this helpful
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Georgios Mistriotis
- 02-11-20
Concise and fun to listen
Really nice. I will
definitely return to it for another listen. Quite enjoyable narration and full of interesting information
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Frank Hall V
- 02-03-24
Dark, Entertaining, and Informative
Absolutely incredible deep dive into murder and all forms of homicide in ancient Rome. Informative without being condescending or boring, Southon does a great job of even making the political nuances of ancient crime entertaining and interesting. An absolute must read for ancient history fans and everyday readers alike, I cannot recommend this book enough!
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- L B
- 01-06-24
Amazing book (as a physical copy or on audio!)
If you’d have told me last year that my favourite book would be one about murder in Ancient Rome, I’d have called you mad. But it’s true, Southon’s writing is just unbelievably good. Nuanced, funny, heartbreaking, I cannot stop returning to A Fatal Thing. Prepare to laugh and cry and then laugh some more…and possible want to commit your own murder.
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story4 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 31-03-21
very interesting but occasionally unnecessary
the subject matter is very interesting but have to say swearing feels OTT at points
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 04-08-21
Bloody excellent.
I wasn't sure of the narration at first, but soon grew to enjoy the deadpan delivery.
I knew a lot of the history before but it was eye opening and you start to rethink your understanding. Really very very good.
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Overall5 out of 5 stars
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Performance5 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- Lizzie
- 23-03-22
Brilliant, clever and funny!
I absolutely love Emma Southon’s work on the Romans — informative and incisive but also she has a wicked sense of humour that had me snorting with laughter. If you like this definitely read Aggrippina too!
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Overall4 out of 5 stars
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Performance4 out of 5 stars
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Story5 out of 5 stars
- kaz
- 30-01-23
It’s a good listen
The subject is a tough one, which would be a hard listen if it wasn’t for the inserted dry humour to break the “tension”. So interesting. Yes the narrator is a bit mismatched to the tone of the book but once I got used to it, I actually found the posh mono-tonal voice made the sweary bits more funny. Sometimes I had to go back and check she had actually just said that! 😂
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Overall2 out of 5 stars
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Performance2 out of 5 stars
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Story3 out of 5 stars
- Anonymous User
- 09-08-21
Jarring pop culture “down with the kids” references
Firstly, I like most listeners of this am no expert in Roman history, and the content and concept of this book are interesting. But the constant, unfunny and cringeworthy references to YouTube, Kardashians, Instagram, page 3 models etc are very unnecessary, distracting and overall ruined my enjoyment of the book. Perhaps it was the way they were delivered by the narrator, but the tone seemed very patronizing. Like a Horrible Histories book with f-bombs, but less funny.
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