The Freedman in the Roman World

'This is a great book, an attempt not just to trace but also in sense to rewrite the history of Roman freedmen (and, by extension, much of Roman social and economic history too). It is particularly strong in offering a corrective to many older views and challenging the evidence upon which those views were based … [Mouritsen] triumphantly undermines old and lazy orthodoxies, but his book also makes clear some of the difficulties in moving from offering a corrective to those views to offering a new vision of Roman freedmen. It is a fundamental contribution to the subject of Roman slavery and a must-read for anyone interested in Roman social history more generally.' Niall McKeown, Scripta Classica Israelica

'Mouritsen's depth of insight and breadth of knowledge have, at last, produced an overarching account of manumission in the Roman world that will be an essential point of departure for future work on this topic, as well as an invaluable resource for teaching.' Bryn Mawr Classical Review

'Given the size of the slave and freedman populations in the ancient world, and the extent to which these individuals were entangled in nearly every aspect of the Roman quotidian experience, there can be no hope of properly grasping that universe without a thorough appreciation of its liberti. Mouritsen has produced what is, to my taste, the most important book we now have on this topic … In short, anyone seeking to understand Rome in the late republican and early imperial periods must not neglect The Freedman [in the Roman World].' Classical World

'Mouritsen's excellent study fills the need for an updated synthesis on Roman freedmen.' American Historical Review

'This is a magisterial synchronic overview of the subject that reconfigures the specific issues that have for decades drawn the attention of scholars … This book is valuable for the way it recasts or even reverses what we thought was typical or unusual.' translated from Sehepunkte (sehepunkte.de)

'The analysis is nothing short of revolutionary, an important advance over the standard studies.' Ancient History Bulletin