The Satyricon — Volume 01: Introduction

A fragmented Roman satirical narrative follows the misadventures of a narrator and his companions through episodes of erotic mishap, social farce, and bawdy comedy, punctuated by a famous lavish dinner scene that satirizes nouveau riche pretensions. The introduction and preface discuss questions of authorship and dating, the text's realistic detail and vernacular speech, manuscript gaps and forgeries, and problems of translation and editorial reconstruction. Critical notes emphasize the author's ironic tone, mastery of perspective, fluid mixing of high and low registers, and the challenges posed by lacunae and corrupt readings that have invited emendation and interpolation.