Customer Reviews

Gladiatrix

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

For what it is, this is not a bad work. It's clearly intended as popular history, no more and no less. And on that level it succeeds. Anybody who already has more than passing knowledge of Ancient Rome would do well to skip it, however. "As seen on the Discovery Channel" sums it up - you can hear the narrative voice-over just before each commercial break: "Coming up next, the life of a gladiator was a cruel one. Could this woman found outside London have voluntarily subjected herself to it, or was she a slave captive forced to fight to entertain her captors? Find out after this word from Avon."

Strike two is the lack of photographs. So much of this book depends on the items found in the tomb of the mystery woman, yet nowhere are we shown what they look like. Whether this is the fault of the author, the editor, or the publisher is unknown, but it rankles, regardless of where the blame lies.

Strike three: the conclusion that the mystery woman was a "gladiatrix" is almost ludicrous. The evidence does not even rise to the level of probable cause; it's a scintilla at most. There was an object depicting a gladiator in her tomb. There were lots of other things in the tomb. Ergo, a gladiator! Balderdash. (And how convenient that the pelvic bones have been "lost," preventing an accurate, independent analysis of the body's gender. No, I don't blame the author, but it seems like somebody's trying to make a quick buck at the expense of an unsuspecting public.)

Three strikes, it's out.

As a professional archaeologist, I am always happy to find books where a factual account based on evidence is also a really entertaining read. This book provides both. While it takes one particular point of view, it does offer alternatives, allowing the reader to make their own choices. The fictionalization provides depth to the story, while the information about Rome, Romans, and gladiators gives the readers the facts to back it up. My only complaint was the lack of illustrations to accompany the text. Archaeology is a stongly visual discipline, making this an inexplicable editorial decision to say the least! Still, a nicely done book I would recommend to anyone interested in archaeology who doesn't want to wade through jargon. Nice job!

Fans of Classical history will find this a fast, enjoyable read.
The "popularizing" element of a wraparound fictional story to explain the possible events leading up to the Great Dover Street Woman's death is well-realized. The only criticism I can level at the book is the utter lack of illustrations. By the end of the work, I was ready to voluteer to draw the illustrations myself! The author tries to make up for this lack of pictures with lucid and clear explanations, but even with my extensive art history library, I could not find many of the examples mentioned in the text. I most definitely would have enjoyed photos of the grave goods, the site and maybe some conceptual drawings. If the work is re-published, it would be good to wait until the access or copyright is granted to publish pictures from the site.

Like one of the other reviewers, I too am an archaeologist (of the Classical sort) but from the statements in the book and the descriptions of the objects (they were displayed on the London Museum website a little while ago - I too wish that there could have been illustrations) I just cannot see how anyone could be so sure that these remains were of a female gladiator. Throughout, the English curators and other academics emphasised caution and even suggested other interpretations (such as the 'incriminating objects' found with her remains being related to her faith or funerary ritual and not her profession - both eminently sensible, I would think) but Zoll seems fixated on a sensationalist approach which has little to do with archaeology and more, I suspect, to do with box-office and book sales. Archaeology is full of good, honest stories so it shouldn't be necessary to tell tall tales!!!

Boy, did I love this book. A little-known piece of history really comes alive. The author vividly recreates the ancient Roman world and takes you on amazing ride through the life of women warriors. Fun and enlightening; I wish my history teachers had been half this interesting.