Rome’s founding myth is usually told as destiny and heroism. Mother of Rome flips the perspective and asks what it felt like to live inside that legend. Lauren J. A. Bear turns Rhea Silvia from a name in history into a woman caught between power, prophecy, and motherhood, where the cost of building a civilization is painfully human.
The author’s note for Mother of Rome by Lauren J.A. Bear begins with the words “I am a storyteller.” Yes, ma’am, you most certainly are.
This is a spectacular retelling of the legend of Romulus and Remus. If you’re unfamiliar with the story, Rhea Silvia is a princess. Her father’s rule is usurped by her uncle after the death of her younger brother, and he forces her into the Vestal Virgins so that she will never produce an heir. Joke’s on him, though, as she encounters the god Mars and becomes pregnant with twins. Her uncle finds them and tries to kill them, but the gods have other ideas.
I felt a real connection to the main characters Rhea and Antho, probably because I’m also a mother. While they come across a bit too perfect, they were the pillars of female fortitude that are needed for this retelling. My favorite character in the book was actually Rhea’s father Numitor because he lived, suffered, and I got to see some of his flaws. I appreciate characters that feel real.
The book is laid out in chapters of alternating length and moves at just the right pace. One of the things that jumped out to me about the prose is that it is more anchored in emotion than action. The narration tends to track the interior reactions of whoever is narrating in real time. At no moment did I feel like I was reading a myth; the priority seemed to be more along the lines of how it felt to be a person inside a myth. The sentences are clean and modern and easy to read. Myth thrives on contradiction — sacred and humiliating, divine and bodily, destiny and personal cost — and the author’s prose mirrors this perfectly.
The genius in this book is that it takes a story that most know as national myth and rewrites it as a woman’s lived experience. The themes all touch upon how civilizations are made out of human cost. The biggest of these is motherhood versus ownership. Others include power and powerlessness, myth versus reality, and then more quietly, revenge, survival, and legacy.
I’ve read a few retellings of myths and legends over the past few years. This is my favorite so far because it grounds its feminism in motherhood and legacy rather than revenge. I’d recommend it to anyone who enjoys these kinds of retellings. So, if you enjoyed Stone Blind (2022), Elektra (2022), Atalanta (2023), or Clytemnestra (2023), you’re likely to enjoy Mother of Rome as well.
Nerd Rating: 🤓🤓🤓🤓— A myth retelling that cares more about the woman than the legend
Let’s Discuss
Do you enjoy retellings that humanize legendary figures, or do you prefer them larger than life?
You can find out more about this book on the Lauren J.A. Bear’s website.
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