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HOOLEY, D.M., Roman Satire. Blackwell Publishing, Malden (...), 2007. XI,189p. Paperback. Name on free endpaper. Nice copy. ‘After a preface outlining his approach and a concise timeline of Roman satire and its influence, an introduction attempts to define the world of satire and explain its human context. It also examines what the Romans thought of satire (…), introduces its different formulations and writers, and traces the shifting views of the genre and its characteristics among moderns critics. In any book on the topic of satire, there is bound to be scholarly disagreement because of the challenging nature of the genre, especially on the extent of contemporary criticism in the genre and on the notion of the ‘persona’. H. deals with these issues admirably. Principal among his achievements is his emphasis on the political dimension as an important component of satire (…). The five chapters cover the genre of satire from its Greek precursors through the major Latin satirists to its later permutations. The first chapter explores some of the beginnings of satire through the figures of Ennius and especially Lucilius, who the Romans considered to be the principal founder of the genre. (…) The core of the book covers the three main Roman satirists. Chapter 2, the longest, is reserved for Horace’s satires. Here H. Gives a close analysis of each individual satire within the context of the overall design of Horace’s two books. Especially insightful are H.’s political interpretations (…), and his general observations on how Horace circumspectly brings the politico-military world of the recent past into the present. Persius is the subject of the third chapter, which includes a commentary on each of his six satires. H. Explain how Persius deforms Horace’s satirical project and exposes the cultural and political excesses of the Neronian world. Chapter 4 features many insights into Juvenal although it seems rather short given the length and importance of his corpus, of each satire of which there is a short reading (…). H.’s investing of Juvenal with contemporary political significance reveals a programme consistent with that of other imperial (not just Flavian) poets who explore political issues through history and myth. The final chapter features a useful discussion of the Menippean satirists and other forms of satirical writing, including Seneca’s ‘Apocolcyntosis’ and Petronius ‘Satyricon’, and then proceeds to trace the tradition and criticism of the genre through the early modern satirists and commentators, notably Dryden, Pope , Swift and Johnson, to the modern era, including popular culture. (…) There are few scholars who can discuss satire like H. And make it meaningful for the general reader and scholar alike. This book is the most accessibly informative yet to appear on the subject.’ (WILLIAM J. DOMINIK in The Classical Review (New Series), 2009, pp.132-134). € 25.00 (Antiquarian) ISBN: 9781405106894