Scan barcode
A review by katykelly
I Am Livia by Phyllis T. Smith
4.0
Enjoyable and thought-provoking account of the power behind the Roman throne
Livia, whom I only know from the book and TV series I Claudius, is here given her own voice and chance to influence her own lasting image by telling her own story - from the adolescent given in marriage to an older Roman to eventual wife of the Emperor, mother and powerful entity in the world of Rome in its heyday.
Known through Robert Graves work as a potential poisoner and power-hungry matriarch, here she is just a girl, a young woman, forced to grow up quickly and assume a role in order to protect herself and those she cares about.
Speaking to us in the first person, real history is blended with a fictionalised account of her falling in love, her children, the maladies and trials she goes through, and how she and the love of her life maintain their positions in a time of flux, of savage backstabbing (literally) and jockeying for favour and power.
Her voice is gauche (and nicely narrated on the audiobook to be smart yet still humble), she grows through the book gently from unaware child to protective mother and wife. I enjoyed the look at behind-the-scenes First Citizen lives, and the history included that gives glimpses into the trials and tribulations of life back then.
I wanted the book to take Livia's story further really, to describe her later years in more detail, it only takes us to a very early part in her long life. The author makes it clear enough that she sees Livia as unfairly represented in many accounts of her, though her own version leaves room for different interpretations of her actions and character.
I am not overly familiar with either Livia herself or Roman history, but this book made me curious to examine both further.
An enjoyable account of a real and important female figure in history, worth a read.
Livia, whom I only know from the book and TV series I Claudius, is here given her own voice and chance to influence her own lasting image by telling her own story - from the adolescent given in marriage to an older Roman to eventual wife of the Emperor, mother and powerful entity in the world of Rome in its heyday.
Known through Robert Graves work as a potential poisoner and power-hungry matriarch, here she is just a girl, a young woman, forced to grow up quickly and assume a role in order to protect herself and those she cares about.
Speaking to us in the first person, real history is blended with a fictionalised account of her falling in love, her children, the maladies and trials she goes through, and how she and the love of her life maintain their positions in a time of flux, of savage backstabbing (literally) and jockeying for favour and power.
Her voice is gauche (and nicely narrated on the audiobook to be smart yet still humble), she grows through the book gently from unaware child to protective mother and wife. I enjoyed the look at behind-the-scenes First Citizen lives, and the history included that gives glimpses into the trials and tribulations of life back then.
I wanted the book to take Livia's story further really, to describe her later years in more detail, it only takes us to a very early part in her long life. The author makes it clear enough that she sees Livia as unfairly represented in many accounts of her, though her own version leaves room for different interpretations of her actions and character.
I am not overly familiar with either Livia herself or Roman history, but this book made me curious to examine both further.
An enjoyable account of a real and important female figure in history, worth a read.