Martial's Epigrams - by Garry Wills (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

One of literature's greatest satirists, Martial earned his livelihood by excoriating the follies and vices of Roman society and its emperors, and set a pattern that satirists have admired across the ages. For the first time, readers can enjoy an English translation of these rhymes that does not sacrifice the cleverly constructed effects of Martial's short and shapely thrusts. Martial's Epigrams "bespeaks a great scholar at play" (The New York Times Book Review), makes for addictive reading, and is a perfect, if naughty, gift.

Look out for a new book from Garry Wills, What the Qur'an Meant, coming fall 2017.

Review Quotes

"This collection bespeaks a great scholar at play. Recreational classicists should feel flattered that [Wills] wants them to watch."
--The New York Times Book Review

"Funny, wicked, and fresh, these epigrams . . . will give the reader plenty of smiles."
--The Philadelphia Inquirer

About the Author

Garry Wills is a historian and the author of the New York Times bestsellers What Jesus Meant, Papal Sin, Why I Am a Catholic, and Why Priests?, among others. A frequent contributor to the New York Review of Books and other publications, Wills is a Pulitzer Prize winner and a professor emeritus at Northwestern University. He lives in Evanston, Illinois.