Roman Passions: A History of Pleasure in Imperial Rome

by Ray Laurence

Overview

In what may be the most in-depth study yet published of a film star's body of work, Susan Hayward charts the career of Simone Signoret, one of the great Frech actresses of the 20th Century.Signoret- who won an Oscar in 1960 for her performance in Room at the Top- was a key figure in French cinema for 40 years. But it is not so much her longevity that impresses, as it is the quality of work she produced as her career progressed. She started out as a stunningly beautiful woman, winning major international awards five times for her roles, and yet was only moderately in demand during those years. From the 1960s onwards, when her looks began to decline significantly, Signoret was in greater demand, and produced most of her output. She insisted on playing roles consonant with her real age, and often chose to play roles that portrayed wher as even more ugly than she had become.Simore Signoret: The Star as Cultural Sign is a remarkable achievement, a labor of love from one of the world's leading scholars of French cinema.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781441134851
Publisher:	Bloomsbury Academic
Publication date:	12/02/2010
Edition description:	World rights
Pages:	256
Product dimensions:	6.10(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.90(d)

About the Author

Ray Laurence is Professor of Classical and Archaeological Studies at the University of Kent, UK. He is the author of many titles including Pompeii The Living City (with Alex Butterworth) which was awarded the Longman-History Today New Generation Prize 2006.

Table of Contents

1: Introduction - Roman Passions 2: Into the World of Roman Pleasure 3: The Emperor's Pleasures 4: The Aesthetics of the City 5: A Little Place in the Country 6: The Roman Body at the Baths 7: Roman Erotics 8: Dining 9: Food and Wine 10: A Great Song and Dance 11: Violence 12: Collectors and Collections 13: Pleasure transforms Roman culture \ Timeline \ Glossary of terms \ Further Reading
Bibliography \ Index

Editorial Reviews

'Really quite rude, quite often - I'm enjoying that hugely! ... Just what you need really to help you drift peacefully off to sleep' - Lindsey Davis's 'Bedtime Read', The Book Show, Sky Arts

'It is all here: emperors' luxurious lifestyles, magnificent urban architecture, grand country villas, baths, sex, food, drink, the theatre, games (especially violent ones) and collecting and displaying rarities ... Commendably detailed.' - Peter Jones, BBC History Magazine

"What's not to like about a guidebook through the consumerist wonderland of ancient Rome, a breezy tour of conspicuous living, lavish dining, mass spectacle, and, of course, sex? ... The book provides general readers with an engaging introduction to early Roman social history. Summing up: Highly recommended."CHOICE

From the Publisher

Laurence (research fellow, archaeology & antiquity, Univ. of Birmingham; coauthor, with Alex Butterworth, Pompeii: The Living City) brings a spirit of lighthearted inquiry to this readable work. Each chapter analyzes a first-century Roman pleasure or leisure activity, e.g., dining, architecture, bathing, sex, theater, violence, collecting, and gifts, drawn especially from erotic culture and supported by archaeological evidence. Linking the disparate subject matter is Laurence's examination of how each of the early emperors created a new culture of pleasure in his reign to reflect his individual greatness while appealing to a sense of tradition and stability. Comparisons between Roman and 21st-century lifestyles are instructive while avoiding anachronism, e.g., against expectations, geological evidence shows that imperial Rome was the greatest polluter before modern industrialized societies. With a broader appeal and more currency than other surveys of Roman leisure, this is sure to interest students not only of Roman history but of cultural history in general.
—Margaret Heller

Library Journal