The Satyricon - Hardcover

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 cities of the southern Mediterranean, encountering en route type-figures whom the author wishes to satyrize - a teacher in higher education, a libidinous priestess, 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 depiction of the underside of Roman society, but also condemnation for some of its lubricious scenes; most recently it formed the subject of Fellini's controversial film. This new and lively translation captures the gaiety of the the original, whilst the introduction and detailed notes will provide serious students with a comprehensive and useful guide to the purposes of the novel. This book is intended for scholars and students of all levels of Latin literature and comparative literature. European and English literature scholars, esp. of the Middle Ages and Renaissance especially Bocaccio, Chaucer.