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Roman Passions: A History of Pleasure in Imperial Rome Paperback – December 2, 2010

by Ray Laurence (Author)
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 11 ratings
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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.
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  1. Print length
    256 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Publisher
    Continuum
  4. Publication date
    December 2, 2010
  5. Dimensions
    6.14 x 0.55 x 9.21 inches
  6. ISBN-10
    1441134859
  7. ISBN-13
    978-1441134851
  8. See all details
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Editorial Reviews

Review

'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

About the Author

Ray Laurence is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University (Sydney, Australia). He has been instrumental in re-thinking and re-conceptualising key areas of Roman history, including urbanism, roads and communications, as well as childhood and the family. His work engages with other disciplines and seeks to move Roman historical research into new areas, such as the cultural history of shopping.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Continuum (December 2, 2010)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 1441134859
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-1441134851
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 14.4 ounces
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 6.14 x 0.55 x 9.21 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 11 ratings

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  1. Ray Laurence

    Ray Laurence

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  2. Ray Laurence

    Ray Laurence

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    Full content visible, double tap to read brief content.

    Ray Laurence is Professor of Ancient History at Macquarie University (Sydney - Australia). He has previously taught at the Universities of Reading, Birmingham and Kent in the England.

    He has throughout his career (first book published in 1994) advocated that Roman history and archaeology are two means to the past that need to be studied together.

    Much of his work features an engagement with contemporary thinking from a range of disciplines that are involve the study of urban space, ageing and the life course, and the study of everyday life in the Roman Empire.

    Moving to Australia in 2017, Ray has been struck by the sheer scale of Ancient History in Australia with over 10,000 students taking Higher Schools Certificate (HSC) in the subject, and substantial numbers enrolled at University - actually far higher than in the UK.

    See more on the author's page
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Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
11 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

S. Southall
5.0 out of 5 stars Pleasurable Investigations
Reviewed in the United States on November 23, 2011
Verified Purchase
Pleasure gets a bad rap in 'serious' studies, yet the many facets of pleasure influence cultures and individuals across the world and the centuries. The pleasures to be found in the Roman villa powerfully motivated elite Romans, and included the relaxation provided by gardens, art collections, and banquets. Food and wine, song and dance, sex and violence all have their cultural attractions, and this book displays the Roman approach to these perennial pleasures. Written in a easy accessible style, this is a pleasurable read that places a lot of information into a desireable package.
2 people found this helpful
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MR J WEBB
5.0 out of 5 stars An amusing, well researched and well written book
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2011
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Don't expect prurient pleasure from this book, although it does discuss Roman sexual mores in detail. This book is more about the Roman's attitudes rather than their practices. Their use of pleasure as an instrument of social rewards and punishment could teach us a lot.
2 people found this helpful
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Beatrice
4.0 out of 5 stars Four Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 2, 2016
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Well written but too long with lengthy explanations
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John F
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United States on February 22, 2015
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Great Buy!
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SS Ranto
5.0 out of 5 stars A Detailed Look at Roman Pleasures
Reviewed in the United States on December 27, 2012
British academic Ray Laurence wrote Roman Passions, A History of Pleasure in Imperial Rome to fill a void. Historians and researchers had not yet looked deeply into Roman pleasures. This book examines in detail the enjoyment of country villas, the baths, sex, dining, music and dance, violent entertainment, and art.

Laurence debunks many longstanding myths about Roman society, for example, the myth of orgies. Sex was, for the most part, private. Roman eating could be outlandish but only for the rich. If one was rich one's diet was quite varied and sophisticated, based on contrasting flavors and a fish paste. Laurence connected the culture of consumption, which peaked in the first century CE, to economic growth and a building boom. "Cores from the Greenland ice cap reveal a peak in atmospheric pollution in antiquity occurring about 2,000 years ago, in other words, from the beginning of the first century CE" (P. 161). This level of production needed to produce these levels of atmospheric pollution was not seen again until the industrial revolution in the early 19th century (ibid.). And the Romans built and polluted with a much smaller population!

Laurence could be talking about 19th century Britain or our own times in America when he tells us that the Roman empire "was the first global economy with cheap products (such as wine) being produced in the provinces for consumption in the capital" (ibid.) The better we understand what went on in ancient Rome, the better we understand our behavior in 21st century America. Since we know what happened to Rome and why, we may have a glimpse on what our future holds as well.

The book is heavily footnoted by a well-known antiquities scholar but is not dense--it flows easily and is lots of fun to read.
One person found this helpful
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Pasko Varnica
1.0 out of 5 stars Impoverished vocabulary and pedestrian prose
Reviewed in the United States on October 16, 2013
"Impoverished vocabulary and pedestrian prose": this is how www.SportsInAntiquity.com has appraised "Roman Passions, A History of Pleasure in Imperial Rome" by Ray Laurence.

To read the full review, access www.SportsInAntiquity.com and scroll down to the essay "Sports? What Frivolity! Part 2"
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krebsman
4.0 out of 5 stars Entertaining and Provocative
Reviewed in the United States on November 4, 2010
Ray Laurence poses some tantalizing questions in ROMAN PASSIONS. How big a role does pleasure play in the development of civilization? What did the Romans take pleasure in? How did that affect them? Or what was it in them that made them take pleasure in certain things? Then in twelve lively chapters with titles like "The Roman Body at the Baths," "Roman Erotics," "Food and Wine," "Violence," "Collectors and Collections" he explores the various forms of Roman pleasure culminating with the final essay, "Pleasure Transforms Roman Culture." This is followed by a Timeline, a Glossary (which defines not only the Roman names and terms, but the modern British terms that Laurence sometimes employs, like "ASBO"), a Further Reading section, Notes, and an extensive Bibliography that includes over 300 works.

I found this book easy to read and quite enjoyable. It caused me to see a lot of things in new ways and raised questions not just about the Romans but my own culture. It's a provocative book for anyone with an interest in Rome. This is NOT a book just for specialists in the field. If your knowledge of Rome has been gleaned exclusively from films and Roman detective novels by Steven Saylor or Lindsey Davis you will have no trouble understanding or enjoying ROMAN PASSIONS.
4 people found this helpful
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