| Format | Hardcover |
| Publication Date | 06/06/23 |
| ISBN | 9781639363957 |
| Trim Size / Pages | 6 x 9 in / 432 |
The story of Messalina – third wife of the emperor Claudius and one of the most notorious women to have inhabited the Roman world
The image of the empress Messalina as a ruthless, 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 witha 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.
Honor Cargill-Martin is an author, classicist, and art historian. She studied Classical Archaeology and Ancient History at Oxford, winning a scholarship and graduating with a first-class degree. She remained at Oxford to complete a masters in Greek and Roman history before going on to study for a second masters in Italian Renaissance Art History at The Courtauld Institute of Art. Messalina is her first book.
Buy it now in print:
Buy it now in ebook:
"Lively and sardonic. In Messalina, Honor Cargill-Martin looks at the limited evidence with empathy, arguing that a notorious empress was also a canny politician." New York Times Book Review, Editor's Choice
“Honor Cargill-Martin’s book throws an academic bucket of cold water over steamy male fantasy. Cargill-Martin has attempted to rediscover Messalina, her endeavour part of a wider movement to give voice to the silent women of history and myth. I am all for this enterprise and this book is an erudite and entertaining example of the form. Splendid.” The Times (London), "Book of the Week"
“The 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
"Classicist Cargill-Martin reexamines the life of a notorious Roman empress in this vibrant tome. Cargill-Martin does an excellent job of bringing the tumult, intrigue, and danger of the Julio-Claudian dynasty to life, mining original sources to get to the heart of who this complicated woman was in the world in which she lived." Booklist, starred review
"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 is full of personalities of whom few will have heard—Narcissus, Mnester, Silius—who play intriguing supporting roles in the story of Messalina, whose reputation as a nymphomaniac is rightly discounted, while her role as a serial murderer is persuasively underlined. It left me longing for the surely-inevitable Netflix series.” Andrew Roberts, New York Times bestselling author of Churchill: Walking with Destiny and The Last King of America
“As a doctoral student working on political sex scandals in ancient Rome, [Cargill-Martin] can handle the sources––and their endless problems––with sophistication, while keeping it palatable for the general reader. She guides us deftly through the warren of high politics and the famously confusing Julio-Claudian family tree. Her writing achieves a rare, old-fashioned, waspish elegance.” The Sunday Telegraph
"Brisk, fun and fascinating, this delicious debut is the perfect marriage of scholarship and wit." Suzannah Lipscomb, host of Not Just the Tudors
“Written with poise, flair, and acute intelligence, brimming with passion and humor, Honor Cargill-Martin’s Messalina is more than just a corrective biography of a much-misunderstood woman. It is a tour de force, a captivating journey into the wild world of imperial Rome, and the most accomplished historical debut that I have read in years.” Dan Jones, New York Times bestselling author
"Honor Cargill-Martin writes Messalina's story with a wonderful combination of passion and precision, in a book that reads like a thriller while delivering a nuanced examination of one woman and her many depictions. There was so much I enjoyed in this book - the sly humour, the burning sense of injustice, the colourful evocation of Pompeii's lupanar - but the most powerful element was the quiet devastation in H C-M's retelling of Messalina's end. This book will make you laugh and cry —and above all it will make you think." Elodie Harper, author of The Wolf Den
