The Roman Empire finally from a female perspective. Let’s tear apart the script of the Roman Empire: Enough of brother murderers, women abductors, and war spectacles! The history of Rome is so much more: With Emma Southon, we discover how the sex worker Hispala Faecenia uncovers a conspiracy, we meet the smartest businesswoman of Pompeii while enjoying the stunning view of Vesuvius, and we follow Septimia Zenobia, who – after witnessing incompetent, psychopathic, and incompetently-psychopathic emperors nearly destroy the empire – does the only logical thing: She declares herself empress. Southon follows 21 women through war, forbidden love, and natural disasters (as well as the occasional bacchanalian orgy) and shows us a new face of the empire that we thought we knew so well. Southon illustrates how women were incredibly often erased from Roman history. Roman women were always there – now we must ensure their stories are told. “Where was Emma Southon when I was studying Roman history?” Laura Shepperson. “Smart, cheeky, and refreshingly feminist. This book deserves a place on library shelves to balance out the patriarchal nonfiction collections. We need more histories like this.” Booklist. “Emma Southon has the amazing ability to turn everything you thought you knew about Roman history upside down, realign it, and present it anew, all while making you laugh because she is, frankly, hilarious. ‘A History of the Roman Empire in 21 Women’ is the history book I didn’t know I needed – an instant classic.” Jane Draycott. “This is not just a book about the lives of historical women, but one about the history of being female.” The Times Literary Supplement.