THE GOLDEN ASS

A new rendering into English of a second century novel is brightly introduced by its translator who not only explains his reasons for re-vamping this classic but also comments on its long history and its reflection of the period and the people. The streamlining and modernization tighten the series of episodes and anecdotes first known as Transformation of Lucius Apuleius of Madaura and Apuleius' wanderings, as a human and later as a ass, bring him adventures with witches, bandits, eunuch priests and sundry owners, mirror the morals, manners and customs of his day. There are bawdy, but not lascivious, situations, the influence of the supernatural, philosophical asides, the inclusion of legend and myth, the description of festivals, and the continual thread of human incident. Scholar, poet and novellat, Graves keeps this from a pedestrian pace and revitalizes it from recent linguistic findings. As a basic novel influencing later writers much as Hoccaccio, Fielding, Smollett, etc., this would have its primary market literature classes, for libraries and reference.