Imperatrix: The Empress Who Was Once a Slave (Nero and Sporus)
In 65 CE, Emperor Nero, although not officially declared a deity, thought himself equal to the gods of Olympus; untouchable, all-seeing, all-knowing, and capable of anything, although he may have fallen marginally short of the depravities of Tiberius. He wrote dreadful poetry whilst making sure his literary detractors weren’t around to criticize. One such detractor was Petronius who, before his own suicide, freed his slave, Sporus. Somtow has delved into the mostly forgotten history of this delicately feminine young man, whom Nero had castrated and made empress after the death of his second wife, Poppaea Sabina. Using witty irony, which is oddly endearing, Somtow sheds light on the flippant attitude towards death―the more gruesome the better―which was very much part of 1st-century Rome. Sporus relates his life as he is about to go to his death in 69 CE.
Sporus lives life on a knife’s edge. Nero is a depraved madman. Somtow pulls these two together with extraordinary empathy and vivid detail, which never feels overdone; a frank and gritty narrative written without belabouring the obvious. Not for the faint-hearted perhaps, but richly compelling all the same. It can be read without the first book, Delicatus. The downside is the editing. Its origin as a serial on Amazon Vella may explain why the novel is full of small errors: missing, doubled and inserted words, and word reversals and typos. This is a fast, addictive read, and Somtow manages his narrative with deceptive ease, juggling historical detail, politics and court intrigue, with Nero’s sexual proclivities and random cruelty, keeping it all relatable to a modern audience. Readers who enjoy historical novels set in Rome will find this a skillful, carefully researched novel from a talented author, and will be looking for the prequel. This is undoubtedly Sporus’ story, and what a story it is!
