The ‘Satyrica' of Petronius

This book presents a formal critical edition and English translation of the Satyrica of Petronius.

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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.