Synopsis: History paints her as the first female serial killer…
Locusta is the daughter of a winemaker in the Roman province of Gaul. She enjoys the indulged childhood of the elite, her concerns only about the day’s amusements. She rides gentle ponies, attends parties, reads Ovid, and learns the herbal arts from her servant. But the day after meeting her betrothed, Locusta discovers the consequences of possessing such dangerous knowledge.
Ordered to leave her pastoral life, Locusta is thrust into a world of intrigue, scandal, and murder—where treason lurks behind every corner and defying an emperor means death. Locusta’s life changes forever when a young Emperor Nero requires her herbal expertise. And commands her to be his personal poisoner. Caught in an imperial web, Locusta must embrace her profession or die.
Who was this ancient roman series killer and how did some become the "personal poisoner" of Emperor Nero? That hooked me in from the beginning. Whilst familiar with all the usual suspects of the early Roman period, Locusta was not one that came to mind quite readily and I was intrigued to read more, even if only from a fictional account.
Bardot uses the first person narrative to recount Locusta's story - in her own words so to speak. We begin with a naive provincial girl who learns the hard way that her own idyllic life is not truly reflective of the Roman Empire as a whole. From the loss of innocence grows the worldly wisdom as she uses her skills in herbal knowledge to recreate a life for herself. It is only when sent to Rome where the ".. decadent world of the the Roman elite was laid wide open .." that this naivety is really drummed home. The use of the maid Priscilla as a " entree " into or teacher of, these dark arts, creates a sort of empathy with Locusta as if this was not all of her own doing but as a direct result of her personal circumstance .... she readily recounts that " .. my first ethics lesson in poisoning ... confess to noone ..".
So, for those not familiar with the " ... poisoned filled world ... " of the scandalous Roman Empire where ".. the wicked hold hands like old friends.." under the reigns of Caligula and Nero, it is from the great writers of the period that we are first introduced to the poisoner, Locusta.
Suetonius in his Life of Nero :
There is no doubt that these pages from the early Roman writers inspired Bardot to give life to this mysterious woman. After being sent to Rome and coming to the attention of a number of noble women, it is when she is introduced to the Empress Agrippina that Locusta's life as a poisoner begins. As Emperor Nero avails himself of her talents, she is well rewarded with property, money and gifts; though finds herself at his beck and call to perform those deeds he would prefer kept well hidden. She consoles herself with the thought that to reject Nero would be to sign her own death warrant, and so she does what she can to ensure her own survival.
The introduction of the character of the centurion Marcus earlier in the piece provides another component to the Locusta story, and one that plays out in the final chapters of both this book and her (fictional) life.
The life and death of Locusta is shrouded in mystery and fueled by chinese whispers with each re-telling. There are many legends of her graphic and barbarous death following the death of her patron, Nero, from being raped to death by a specially trained giraffe to being torn apart by wild animals in the arena as befits a notorious sorceress. It is presumed that she perished shortly after Galba succeeded.
Bardot provides us with an entertaining story that more than adequately fits in with what I call the "rehabilitation genre" - whereby - mostly - historical women with a less than pristine pasts are given a dusting off and are having their stories told from a slightly different perspective (history being written by the victors, etc etc). It is an enthralling tale, and the reader certainly finds empathy with the character of Locusta, which is the ultimate aim of the author. It is also a tale of the cesspit that was ancient Rome - the salacious scandals, the sex and violence, the notoriety of its citizens, murder, greed, envy, social position.
If you are looking for a "new" historical heroine, then you have found her in Locusta.
No comments:
Post a Comment