Reviews for Re-Viewing le Morte Darthur: Texts and Contexts, Characters and Themes

The average rating for Re-Viewing le Morte Darthur: Texts and Contexts, Characters and Themes based on 2 reviews is 3.5 stars.

Review # 1 was written on 2012-02-10 00:00:00 Michele Fonte This reads like Dalby's second magnum opus after Siren Feasts. It's equally detailed but with terms written in Latin instead of Greek and longer quotes. I found the latter actually more enjoyable than the shorter quotes in most of his other books because it allows you to immerse yourself in Roman culture more. And this book isn't just another food history. It also includes aromatics (a big fad among ancient Romans), furniture, animals, clothing, and everything exotic that their empire brought to Rome. It is extremely detailed, however, and probably better as a reference than a long non-fiction read because he often repeats himself in other sections but it's quite interesting if you can stick with it. For those interested in women's history or sex history, skip to the middle of the last chapter for a short section on women's choice and preferences in regards to sexual partners. it's surrounded by similar information for men, who were the primary writers whose work survived, but incredibly compelling in its own right. Terrible you have to read almost the entire book to get to that point though.

Review # 2 was written on 2011-09-25 00:00:00 Michelle Plataslipson This is a lovely book with high production values that suit its subject admirably. It describes the physical and material world of the Roman empire as it appeared, smelled, felt and tasted to the Romans who lived then. It covers a period from the end of the Republic to about midway through the Principate and is nicely sited within the sources. Dalby says in his introduction that he intended the book as a companion to reading the original literature and sources, and to that extent it works admirably. It really gives a sense of the sensuality of the Roman world: roses, cinnamon oil, juicy peaches. Well worth a read if you're either studying classical antiquity or are simply interested in the look, feel, smell and touch of the Roman world.