Agrippina
They said she was a tyrant, a murderer and the most wicked woman in history.
She kicked her way into the male spaces of politics and demanded to be recognised as an equal and a leader. For her audacity, she was murdered by her son and reviled by history.
She was the sister, niece, wife and mother of emperors. She was an empress in her own right. And she was a nuanced, fearless trailblazer in the Roman world.
The story of Agrippina – the first empress of Rome – is the story of an empire at its bloody, extravagant, chaotic, ruthless height.
Emma Southon has a PhD in Ancient History and researches sex, the family, gender and religion. She co-hosts the podcast History is Sexy and works as a bookseller in Belfast. Agrippina was first published by Unbound in 2018. Emma is also the author of A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum (2020) and her most recent book, A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women, was published in 2023. She lives in Belfast.
www.emmasouthon.com / @nuclearteeth