Fast-reading tales that are full of action and drama, humor and romance, as first told to the students of Perse School.

Petronius's picaresque novel (probably written during Nero's reign) presents in lurid detail the disreputable travels and adventures of Encolpius, a swashbuckling young coward lacking both morals and income. It has been called a kaleidoscope picture of literature, lust, and life. Perhaps best known are the chapters describing Trimalchio's wildly extravagant dinner party with rambunctious entertainment. For the revised edition, Warmington debowdlerized...