A Companion to the Ancient Novel

Cleverly bisecting the over–extension and highly focused specialism of other texts on the ancient novel, this companion brings together the most up–to–date international scholarship on the classical world’s prototypical achievements in narrative fiction. Chapters on individual classical authors such as Petronius, Xenophon and Apuleius sit alongside a wide–ranging thematic analysis and ground–breaking exploration of developments in authorial expression and readership of the ancient novel form. Reflecting the on–going cultural significance of the ancient novel, with its close relevance to modern studies of fiction and literary theory, not to mention the cultural precepts of linguistic, psychological and sociological research, this comprehensive work promises to be an important resource for students and scholars for years to come.

Shannon N. Byrne is Professor of Classics at Xavier University. Edmund P. Cueva is Professor of Classics and Humanities at the University of Houston–Downtown. Together, they have coedited several books, including of Authors, Authority and Interpreters in the Ancient Novel: Essays in Honor of Gareth L. Schmeling (with J. Alvares, 2006), Longus: Text, Commentary and Vocabulary (2005), and Humor and Classical Literature (2002).