Messalina
The Life and Times of Rome's Most Scandalous Empress
Published on 11. May 2023
Book
Hardback
432 pages
978-1-80110-259-9 (ISBN)
Description
This is the story of Messalina - third wife of Emperor Claudius and one of the most notorious women to have inhabited the Roman world.
The scandalous image of the Empress Messalina as a ruthless and sexually insatiable schemer, derived from the work of Roman historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius, has taken deep root in the Western imagination. The stories they told about her included nightly visits to a brothel and a twenty-four-hour sex competition with a prostitute. Tales like these have defined the empress's legacy, but her real story is much more complex.
In her new life of Messalina, the classicist Honor Cargill-Martin reappraises one of the most slandered and underestimated female figures of ancient history. Looking beyond the salacious anecdotes, she finds a woman battling to assert her position in the overwhelmingly male world of imperial Roman politics - and succeeding. Intelligent, passionate, and ruthless when she needed to be, Messalina's story encapsulates the cut-throat political manoeuvring and unimaginable luxury of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in its heyday.
Cargill-Martin sets out not to 'salvage' Messalina's reputation, but to look at her life in the context of her time. Above all, she seeks to reclaim the humanity of a life story previously circumscribed by currents of high politics and patriarchy.
The scandalous image of the Empress Messalina as a ruthless and sexually insatiable schemer, derived from the work of Roman historians such as Tacitus and Suetonius, has taken deep root in the Western imagination. The stories they told about her included nightly visits to a brothel and a twenty-four-hour sex competition with a prostitute. Tales like these have defined the empress's legacy, but her real story is much more complex.
In her new life of Messalina, the classicist Honor Cargill-Martin reappraises one of the most slandered and underestimated female figures of ancient history. Looking beyond the salacious anecdotes, she finds a woman battling to assert her position in the overwhelmingly male world of imperial Roman politics - and succeeding. Intelligent, passionate, and ruthless when she needed to be, Messalina's story encapsulates the cut-throat political manoeuvring and unimaginable luxury of the Julio-Claudian dynasty in its heyday.
Cargill-Martin sets out not to 'salvage' Messalina's reputation, but to look at her life in the context of her time. Above all, she seeks to reclaim the humanity of a life story previously circumscribed by currents of high politics and patriarchy.
Reviews / Votes
Messalina is more than just a corrective biography of a misunderstood woman. It is a captivating journey into the wild world of imperial Rome and the most accomplished historical debut I have read in years. * Dan Jones * Honor Cargill-Martin writes Messalina's story with a wonderful passion and precision, in a book that reads like a thriller while delivering a nuanced examination of one woman and her many depictions. * Elodie Harper * Brisk, fun and fascinating, this delicious debut is the perfect marriage of scholarship and wit. * Suzannah Lipscomb * For all the tales of sexual jealousy, vicious retribution and (occasionally) genuine love, this is also a serious and substantial account of the political machinations of the Roman imperial court in the first half of the first century ad, from a very considerable scholar. It left me longing for the surely-inevitable Netflix series. * Andrew Roberts * A credible new narrative of Messalina's life... an impressive feat... [a] scholarly and engaging account * Literary Review * This book is a lesson in ancient Rome, but more interesting is what it says about misogyny, patriarchy, and how women get written in or out of history. * New Statesman * Erudite and entertaining * The Sunday Times * Guides us deftly through the warren of high politics and the famously confusing Julio-Claudian family tree * The Telegraph * Engrossing, thought-provoking... a wide-ranging and powerful work * All About History *More details
Language
English
Place of publication
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Illustrations
2 x 8pp col
Dimensions
Height: 234 mm
Width: 153 mm
ISBN-13
978-1-80110-259-9 (9781801102599)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions
E-Book
05/2023
1st Edition
Apollo
€10.49
Available for download
Person
Honor Cargill-Martin is an author, classicist, and art historian from London. She read Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Oxford, winning a scholarship and graduating with a first-class degree in 2019. She has masters degrees in Greek and Roman history and Italian Renaissance Art. She is currently studying for a doctorate focusing on political sex scandals in Ancient Rome at Christ Church College Oxford. She has published a number of children's fiction titles. Her biography of Messalina is her first non-fiction title.