2019 has been a no-good very-bad year, but the creativity and work of many brilliant people has gotten me through it. As this stupid thankless year draws to a close, I’m writing thank-you notes to some of the people who made things that brought me joy in a dark time.
Dear Emma Southon,
Thank you for writing Agrippina! My friend Alice of the For Real podcast recommended it to me by quoting small passage from it until I was charmed into acquiring it, and that’s in a year when my nonfiction consumption was heavily regulated (by myself) (I am a heavy regulator of myself) and I had to make very hard choices about what nonfiction to read and not read. But I am super glad that I spent a nonfiction chit on Agrippina because it was delightful. I loved it as a book, but even more than that, I loved the project that you are doing of making history accessible, friendly, and funny. I loved the companionable language you used, and how you invited the reader to feel engaged not just with the people from history but with the challenges of uncovering this history. Also, you made me laugh. More people should write books like this, except honestly a lot of classicists aren’t that funny. If any of your peers are going “hem hem she should be more Serious” please know that they are buttheads and you are doing awesome. I loved your book.
Kind regards,
Jenny