Description

Book Synopsis
The Satyricon is one of the most outrageous and strikingly modern works to have survived from the ancient world. Most likely written by an advisor of Nero, it recounts the adventures of Encolpius and his companions as they travel around Italy, encountering courtesans, priestesses, con men, brothel-keepers, pompous professors and, above all, Trimalchio, the nouveau riche millionaire whose debauched feasting and pretentious vulgarity make him one of the great comic characters in literature. Estimated to date from 63 - 65 AD, and only surviving in fragments, The Satyricon nevertheless offers an unmatched satirical portrait of the age of Nero, in all its excesses and chaos.

Trade Review
"This version by a translator who understands the high art of low humor is conspicuously funny."
—Time

"William Arrowsmith's translation of The Satyricon meets the two fundamental requirements of the translator's art: perfect fidelity to the original and a vitality of style that tempts the reader to believe that the English version is not a translation.… A classic of literature."
—Allen Tate

"Arrowsmith's brilliant translation … at one stroke renders every other version obsolete."
—London Times Literary Supplement

The Satyricon

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    A Paperback / softback by Petronius, Helen Morales, J P Sullivan

    £10.44

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      Book details

      Publisher Penguin Random House Group
      Imprint Penguin Classics
      Published 6 October 2011
      ISBN-13 9780140448054
      978-0140448054
      ISBN-10 0140448055
      Also in:
      ELT & Literary Studies Ancient, classical and medieval texts

      Description

      Book Synopsis
      The Satyricon is one of the most outrageous and strikingly modern works to have survived from the ancient world. Most likely written by an advisor of Nero, it recounts the adventures of Encolpius and his companions as they travel around Italy, encountering courtesans, priestesses, con men, brothel-keepers, pompous professors and, above all, Trimalchio, the nouveau riche millionaire whose debauched feasting and pretentious vulgarity make him one of the great comic characters in literature. Estimated to date from 63 - 65 AD, and only surviving in fragments, The Satyricon nevertheless offers an unmatched satirical portrait of the age of Nero, in all its excesses and chaos.

      Trade Review
      "This version by a translator who understands the high art of low humor is conspicuously funny."
      —Time

      "William Arrowsmith's translation of The Satyricon meets the two fundamental requirements of the translator's art: perfect fidelity to the original and a vitality of style that tempts the reader to believe that the English version is not a translation.… A classic of literature."
      —Allen Tate

      "Arrowsmith's brilliant translation … at one stroke renders every other version obsolete."
      —London Times Literary Supplement

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