The ‘Satyrica' of Petronius
Petronii Arbitri ‘Satyrica' Quae Supersunt
Wade Richardson author Wade Richardson translator Wade Richardson editor
Format:Hardback
Publisher:University of Toronto Press
Published:22nd Apr '25
£62.00
Supplier delay - available to order, but may take longer than usual.
The Satyrica of Petronius is a one-of-a-kind satirical comic novel in Latin: an engaging narrative of the shady, sex-and-cash-engrossed lives of men and women in provincial first-century Italy. No critical edition in English of comparable scope exists. In this treatment, Wade Richardson, after a life's work on the Satyrica, investigates and delineates the ingenuity and skill of the author in all features of writerly craft, within the framework of the latest critical text and a translation lively enough to satisfy the demands of today's audiences.
Incorporating eighty new and fully argued emendations, the bulk of this volume is a facing-page text and translation, choosing English for the obverse (recto), with elaborative notes, and Latin for the reverse (verso), with an abundant apparatus. This is preceded by an introduction describing the multifarious problems posed by author and work. The edition is intended to give pure enjoyment to everyone – from curious students of Latin and beyond, including their teachers and professors – by providing a unique linguistic, literary, and cultural exposure to the author and his work.
“Wade Richardson’s new critical edition and translation of The ‘Satyrica’ of Petronius is a splendid piece of scholarship, both a delight to read and a valuable addition to the Phoenix Supplementary Volumes series. The book represents a major contribution to our understanding of what Petronius actually wrote and of what his precise wording actually means. It is the result of many years of impressively attentive and sympathetic consideration of Petronius’ remarkable, and remarkably idiosyncratic, novel.” -- Michael Dewar, Professor of Classics, University of Toronto
“Like the work of Alfred Jarry, Harry Partch, and Henry Miller, the Satyricon is not for the faint of heart. But if you have the guts to enter Petronius’ Roman underworld, this edition is an expert guide.” -- Sean Gurd, Professor of Classics, University of Texas at Austin
ISBN: 9781487550714
Dimensions: 235mm x 159mm x 33mm
Weight: 800g
486 pages