Morbid Romantic

Book Review & Personal Blog

As The Romans Did: A Sourcebook in Roman Social History, Jo-Ann Shelton
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA; 1997
Genre: Historical
Pages: 512
Rating: 5 stars

This is an excellent book; that is the best way to describe it. The book uses both primary and secondary sources to illuminate the lives, customs, values, and every day workings of a whole world of different Roman people. This book describes how Romans lived, what they loved, their class differences, their gender differences, their social customs, and just… generally who they were. It has sections on bathrooms, sewers, contraception, doctors, state religion, prostitution, war captives, urban dangers… there are hundreds of things, really, and all uniquely fascinating. The best part of this book is the source material, though. In this book, a reader sees Rome through the eyes of a Roman or someone close to the Roman world. Used are such materials as graffiti, letters, tomb inscriptions, in addition to books. It’s a valuable resource for anyone who is studying Roman history.

- More can be found on my Library page¹

1. Disclaimer: This review is an expression of my own opinions and contains my own personal analysis. [↩]

Houses and Society in Pompeii and Herculaneum, Andrew Wallace-Hadrill
Publisher: Princeton University Press; 1996
Genre: Historical
Pages: 264
Rating: 4 stars

This is more than just a book about Roman houses. This book first describes Roman houses and decoration and then puts them into context by delving into the Roman house as a status object, as a hierarchical space, and as a place for both leisure and work. This book really captures the nature of the Roman by describing what they used their space for. The author compares the Roman home to more modern structures for understanding, but the basis of the book is not to compare and contrast the two. It’s definitely not the sort of book for someone who is looking for the basics, though. Sometimes, the way the houses are described seems more a mathematical equation than description of living/working space.

- More can be found on my Library page¹

1. Disclaimer: This review is an expression of my own opinions and contains my own personal analysis. [↩]