This book is a gentle wander through the highways and byways of ancient Rome. Designed for a mass-market audience, the sense of humour exhibited by the authors Harry Mount (the author of the similar publication Amo, Amas, Amat…and All That) and John Davie exudes a middling, suburban viewing of the ancient world which will not upset the neighbours – too much. That is not to say they brush over the rude bits – there are two whole chapters on that naughty Catullus in here! – and the rise of Christianity has some pretty startling descriptions of crucifixion to make you wonder about how gruesome these Romans really were.

And this is the main thing: the authors have not set out to provide any especially deep and meaningful insights. Everything is written in a cheery, occasionally cheesy, style that enables the casual reader to lap up a chapter or two before bedtime. The pacing is uneven. While the chapter on Pliny and the eruption of Mount Vesuvius is not much more than a version of the two well-known letters (and could perhaps be employed as a read-along for younger students), others give more substance by including a wider range of source material in the form of quotations and inscriptional evidence to back up the narrative. The narrative is, however, firmly in an ‘easy-reading’ style, interspersed with casual asides and slightly school-boy humour. Thus we are warned ‘Prepare yourself for the most disgusting poem in ancient Rome’ (p. 49) before we get on to Catullus 16, rather too vividly translated for use in schools, I would have thought; and the chapter on Roman graffiti similarly takes a certain sort of pleasure in describing exactly what has been found on the walls of public toilets in Pompeii. Other references to Fergie’s toes being sucked (p.4) and ‘humping’ (p. 69) may lead to mystification and awkward questions in the classroom. This is a shame, because there are some chapters which are quite good, simple potted histories (Plebs and Patricians, and Empire and Emperors) which could provide a way into some of the drier parts of Roman history. This makes the book a bit of a minefield and perhaps only really suitable for adults as a sort of joke birthday gift or similar, which is a shame, because what the authors have done is assemble in each of the chapters quite a large number of quotations, aphorisms, and pithy sayings which are quite familiar but never all in the same place. Perhaps, then, a purchaser might mine the book for those alone, but never let it into the hands of a student – at least until they are 18 years old.