A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum

In Ancient Rome, all the best stories have one thing in common: murder. Blending history, true crime, and sharp wit, Emma Southon investigates real-life killings from across the Roman Empire to reveal what violence, justice, and power meant to the people who lived there.

In A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Southon examines a trove of real-life homicides from Roman history to explore Roman culture, including how perpetrator, victim, and the act itself were regarded by ordinary people. Inside Ancient Rome's darkly fascinating history, we see how the Romans viewed life, death, and what it means to be human.

Romulus killed Remus to found the city, Caesar was assassinated to save the Republic. Caligula was butchered in the theater, Claudius was poisoned at dinner, and Galba was beheaded in the Forum. In one 50-year period, 26 emperors were murdered.

Part cultural history, part true-crime investigation, and part portrait of everyday life in the ancient world, this entertaining bestseller explores everyone from emperors and aristocrats to slaves, gladiators, spouses, parents, and children, uncovering how Romans understood murder and why some deaths mattered far more than others.

Perfect for readers of Mary Beard, popular history, and historical true crime, A Fatal Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum offers a fascinating, darkly funny journey into the crimes, scandals, and power struggles that shaped Ancient Rome.

"Emma Southon has found a most rewarding path by focusing on real-life murders of the era to illustrate how Romans saw life, death, and themselves. Julius Caesar, of course, earns a chapter, but the author presents an astonishing docket of cases that bring vividly alive (with a dash of wit) what Romans feared the most." (Air Mail)