Ancient Fiction & Literature Classics, Humorous Fiction, Erotica

Petronius: Satyrica

Name: Petronius: Satyrica
Author: Petronius
ISBN: 9780460875479

by Petronius

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Overview

"The Satyricon" is the most celebrated work of fiction to have survived from the ancient world. It can be described as the first realistic novel, the father of the picaresque genre. It recounts the sleazy progress of a pair of literate scholars as they wander through the cites of the southern Mediterranean, encountering en route type-figures whom the author wishes to satirize—a teacher in higher education, a libidinous priest, a vulgar freedman turned millionaire, a manic poet, a superstitious sea-captain, a femme fatale. The novel has fascinated the literary world of Europe ever since, evoking praise for its elegant and hilarious description of the underside of Roman society, but also condemnation for some of its lubricous subjects; it also formed the subject of Fellini's controversial film. This new translation captures the gaiety of the original, whilst the introduction and detailed notes will provide serious students with a comprehensive and useful guide to the purposes of the novel.

About the Author, Petronius

R. Bracht Branham is Associate Professor of Classics and Comparative Literature at Emory University. He is the author of Unruly Eloquence: Lucian and the Comedy of Traditions (1989), which won Harvard's Wilson Prize. Daniel Kinney is Associate Professor of English and Director of the Comparative Literature Program at the University of Virginia. He has written several studies of Medieval and Renaissance genres and is a prize-winning translator and editor.

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Editorials

Booknews

A new translation of the classical masterpiece, a comic exploration of an ancient empire in decline which can be read as the first European novel, a parody of classical romance, or pagan pornography, using the idioms of contemporary American English to capture the comic vigor of the original. Includes a chronology of the author's times, an introduction on historical context, related fragments and poems, and a glossary of names. No index. Annotation c. Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)