Agrippina: Sex, Power, and Politics in the Early Empire

Love her or hate her, Agrippina makes for a fascinating story.

Unfortunately, the author's writing style takes away from what could be an outstanding biography. No doubt the book is well researched, and all of the appropriate facts are included. However, the author sometimes goes off on unnecessary digressions and includes unnecessary minutiae which distracts from the flow of the narrative.

This book will interest those with an interest in Agrippina and/or her period and will inform any reader. Nonetheless, the work itself makes for a less than enjoyable journey.

I don't know why they did it, it's a publisher's thing. But the font is so small and densely packed as to make this almost unreadable. But it does match the author's style... Obviously a very worthy account of the life of Agrippina, brimming with detail and well thought out reflection and sober speculation. But - and this is the fault of history more than the author - there's a sense that this story is always on the sidelines of other stories, and they pile upon each other to the point where the narrative is lost in a thousand meanders and dead ends. This possibly should have stayed as a series of scholarly articles, and then been developed as a cinema piece rather than a book. I should have realized this when I looked again at the show more cover and saw the blurb... "An irresistible combination of treachery, incest and murder" No, it's not. show less

Barrett impresses readers again by capturing the life of this remarkable woman: Agrippina the Younger. As the mother of Emperor Nero, the readers will be astounded to learn about her younger life, especially when her crazy brother Caligula becomes emperor of Rome. Fearing for her life constantly, Barrett portrays an Agrippina that is cunning and devious, but also has a side to her that one can't help feeling sympathetic towards.

A well-researched and compelling examination of the life of Agrippina the Younger, traditionally reviled as one of the most evil women in history. Barrett treats her with fairness, looking at her crimes, but also placing them in context. Roman political machinations are clearly set out. Highly recommended.

Sex, power, politics in the early empire.
In this dynamic biography-the first on Agrippina the Younger in English-Anthony Barrett paints a startling new picture of the powerful first-century Roman woman who was the sister of the emperor Caligula, wife of the emperor Claudius, and mother of the emperor Nero. Barrett draws on the latest archeological, numismatic, and historical evidence to argue that Agrippina was not simply a sexually alluring manipulator