The Dedalus Book of Roman Decadence: Emperors of Debauchery

Author: Geoffrey Farrington

Translator: Brian Murdoch   Cover illustration: Gustave Moreau  

...concentrates on the outrageous behaviour of the ruling class of the Roman Empire, as described in passages selected from the prose, poetry and history of the period. Their murder plots, sexual deviances, orgies, cruelty and incessant intrigue put our politicians and their peccadillos on a play school level.

Time Out

...devoted to the juicier bits of Tacitus, Suetonius, Juvenal, Apuleius and Seneca (the stuff that, as Gibbon put it, should be veiled in the decent obscurity of an ancient language). But you have to admit it's fun.

Nicholas Lezard in The Guardian

Roman decadence is perennially mesmerising, and this book gives ample opportunity to join Tiberius, Caligula and Nero at one of their exhausting orgies. As these all involved lust and love for beautiful youths, it provides perfect bedtime reading. But what excellent reporters those Romans were - Suetonius, Tacitus, Seneca and Petronius all wrote simply and vividly and these new translations increase the immediacy.

Gay Times