Author:Juvenal,Peter Green,Peter Green

Perhaps more than any other writer, Juvenal (c. AD 55-138) captures the splendour, the squalor and the sheer energy of everyday Roman life. In The Sixteen Satires he evokes a fascinating world of whores, fortune-tellers, boozy politicians, slick lawyers, shameless sycophants, ageing flirts and downtrodden teachers. A member of the traditional land-owning class that was rapidly seeing power slip into the hands of outsiders, Juvenal also creates savage portraits of decadent aristocrats - male and female - seeking excitement among the lower orders of actors and gladiators, and of the jumped-up sons of newly-rich former slaves. Constantly comparing the corruption of his own generation with its stern and upright forebears, Juvenal's powers of irony and invective make his work a stunningly satirical and bitter denunciation of the degeneracy of Roman society
Margaret Forster's...novel about mothers and daughters...is one of the most painfully honest I have ever read. It raised agonising questions about female identity, asking whether the role of mother leaves anything over for the individual woman, and whether daughters can ever shake off the past
—— Joan Smith , GuardianA new work by Margaret Forster always gives me a tingle of anticipation. Her books are consistently good reads, packed with originality and imagination
—— Val Hennessy , Daily MailForster is remarkably honest, skilful and perceptive
—— ObserverAn honest portrait of the generation gap and the perennial irritations that bedevil this most powerful and idealised of all blood ties
—— CompanyRoars and leaps through the London streets with thrilling energy...the result is tremendous. Ackroyd is a wonderful guide and torchbearer, bringing light to the darkest corners of humanity
—— Independent






