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claire_rostron's review against another edition
Just couldn’t get past the relentlessly jokey sarcastic tone which made it too hard to access the information.
chaifanatic18's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
informative
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
4.5
cassiecarola's review against another edition
4.0
The term “revisionist history” has become a curse in the historical world. Anytime a historian brings up women, gender or sexuality history that has not been discussed popularly, the term “revisionist!” gets thrown at them from a cartoonish mob with pitchforks as they decide that anything that does not satisfy their -idea- of history is simply, made up. Not that people do not conceive of their own versions of history based on their biases, but what I consider revisionist is the prevailing idea that women just twiddled their thumbs from the beginning of time until 1970.
When Southon claims this book is a revisionist history, focusing on the “unimportant” women, I knew I was in for something good! Not because what she says is fake and suits my interests, but because it’s everything that certain historians have written off for over a millennia and I appreciate her claiming the term before they can throw it back at her.
The book is insightful (as the title suggests) through the author’s knowledge in the subject. On top of being insightful, it is also incredibly entertaining. Southon’s witty discussion of the women makes it feel as though you are listening to a podcast on the subject rather than reading a 350 page history book.
I would definitely recommend this book for those interested in history. It does not shoot information at you relentlessly in the way that academia-oriented books often do but instead invites you on a narrative story of Rome (all bits included) through its several centuries of history condensed into the lives of 21 women (mostly “unimportant” although we know no one’s ever really unimportant.) I can’t wait to read other books by the author!
When Southon claims this book is a revisionist history, focusing on the “unimportant” women, I knew I was in for something good! Not because what she says is fake and suits my interests, but because it’s everything that certain historians have written off for over a millennia and I appreciate her claiming the term before they can throw it back at her.
The book is insightful (as the title suggests) through the author’s knowledge in the subject. On top of being insightful, it is also incredibly entertaining. Southon’s witty discussion of the women makes it feel as though you are listening to a podcast on the subject rather than reading a 350 page history book.
I would definitely recommend this book for those interested in history. It does not shoot information at you relentlessly in the way that academia-oriented books often do but instead invites you on a narrative story of Rome (all bits included) through its several centuries of history condensed into the lives of 21 women (mostly “unimportant” although we know no one’s ever really unimportant.) I can’t wait to read other books by the author!
tourmaline1703's review against another edition
informative
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
5.0
This is a brilliant and entertaining non-fiction book that recentres key events of Roman history on women, highlighting previously unheard stories. The footnotes provide helpful background to certain names or events, whilst any complex ancient systems like Roman money are explained in detail so that any reader can pick this up and understand the key context. This really helped to flesh out my knowledge of different periods of ancient Rome's history as well as how Rome impacted different countries and kingdoms.
Emma Southon is a fantastic writer, providing comedic yet insightful thoughts on the topics she discusses and the women she analyses. The writing is easy to follow, flows well and keeps you interested; what more can you ask for? Sometimes non-fiction books can be quite heavy or wordy but this is the perfect level of writing for a light read whilst still informing you in depth about different women's lives.
The book I found to be well paced and I liked how the book was structured; different parts to represent different ruling systems in Rome, with an individual chapter for each woman or a mother/daughter pairing. Each chapter kept you invested and intrigued, flowing well into each other. When the later chapters referenced earlier chapters, it created a complete sense to the book as you could begin to reflect and compare how the lives of women changed.
I adored reading this book and it is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I have found so many more historical figures and areas of ancient history that I am interested in, and I cannot wait to learn even more.
Emma Southon is a fantastic writer, providing comedic yet insightful thoughts on the topics she discusses and the women she analyses. The writing is easy to follow, flows well and keeps you interested; what more can you ask for? Sometimes non-fiction books can be quite heavy or wordy but this is the perfect level of writing for a light read whilst still informing you in depth about different women's lives.
The book I found to be well paced and I liked how the book was structured; different parts to represent different ruling systems in Rome, with an individual chapter for each woman or a mother/daughter pairing. Each chapter kept you invested and intrigued, flowing well into each other. When the later chapters referenced earlier chapters, it created a complete sense to the book as you could begin to reflect and compare how the lives of women changed.
I adored reading this book and it is one of my favourite reads of the year so far. I have found so many more historical figures and areas of ancient history that I am interested in, and I cannot wait to learn even more.
friskreads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
informative
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
Some of these stories were excellent, others dragged a little but the author's quirky humour was great and it was fantastic to hear female voices at the forefront of Ancient Rome.