Synopses & Reviews
Having spent most of his life managing his servants--many of them prisoners from Rome's military conquests--he decided to write a kind of owner's manual for his friends and countrymen. The result, , is a sly, subversive guide to the realities of servitude in ancient Rome. Cambridge scholar Jerry Toner uses Falx, his fictional but true-to-life creation, to describe where and how to Romans bought slaves, how they could tell an obedient worker from a troublemaker, and even how the ruling class reacted to the inevitable slave revolts. Toner also adds commentary throughout, analyzing the callous words and casual brutality of Falx and his compatriots and putting it all in context for the modern reader. Written with a deep knowledge of ancient culture--and the depths of its cruelty--this is the Roman Empire as you've never seen it before.
Synopsis
The sly, subversive, first-person, and uncompromising guide to the realities of slavery and servitude in ancient Rome, with a foreword by Mary Beard.
Synopsis
The result, The Roman Guide to Slave Management, is a sly, subversive guide to the realities of servitude in ancient Rome. Cambridge scholar Jerry Toner uses Falx, his fictional but true-to-life creation, to describe where and how to Romans bought slaves, how they could tell an obedient worker from a troublemaker, and even how the ruling class reacted to the inevitable slave revolts. Toner also adds commentary throughout, analyzing the callous words and casual brutality of Falx and his compatriots and putting it all in context for the modern reader. Written with a deep knowledge of ancient culture and the depths of its cruelty this is the Roman Empire as you ve never seen it before. "
About the Author
Jerry Toner is Fellow and Director of Studies in Classics at Churchill College, Cambridge. He is the author of Roman Disasters, Homer's Turk, and Popular Culture in Ancient Rome.Mary Beard is a Cambridge professor and author of more than a dozen books, including Confronting the Classics.