Why read Messalina?

Book cover of Messalina: Empress, Adulteress, Libertine: The Story of the Most Notorious Woman of the Roman World

Book 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…

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Why read it?

1 author picked Messalina as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Jane Draycott

Author

Messalina is commonly passed over in favour of her successor as the wife of the emperor Claudius, Agrippina the Younger, the mother of Nero.

Honor Cargill-Martin seeks to redress this imbalance in the coverage of the two empresses, and explores what their similarities and differences can tell us about not only the Roman view of powerful women, but also the ways in which this view has been adapted (or not) over the last 2,000 years.

While she doesn’t entirely debunk Messalina’s reputation as a crazed nymphomaniac, she does contextualise her affairs and offer sensible, pragmatic explanations for them that shed…

From Jane's list on The best books about amazing ancient women written by amazing modern women.