Catullus' Bedspread: The Life of Rome's Most Erotic Poet
Written by Daisy Dunn
Narrated by Mike Grady
3.5/5
()
About this audiobook
A vivid narrative that recreates the life of Gaius Valerius Catullus, Rome’s first modern” poet, and follows a young man’s journey through a world filled with all the indulgences and sexual excesses of the time, from doomed love affairs to shrewd political maneuvering and backstabbing—an accessible, appealing look at one of history’s greatest poets.
Born to one of Verona’s leading families, Catullus spent most of his young adulthood in Rome, mingling with the likes of Caesar and Cicero and chronicling his life through his poetry. Famed for his lyrical and subversive voice, his poems about his friends were jocular, often obscenely funny, while those who crossed him found themselves skewered in raunchy verse, sudden objects of hilarity and ridicule. These bawdy poems were disseminated widely throughout Rome. Many of his poems recall his secret longstanding affair with the seductive older Clodia.
While Catullus and Clodia made love in the shadows, the whole of Italy was quaking as Caesar, Pompey and Crassus forged a doomed alliance for power. During these tumultuous years, Catullus increasingly turned to darker subject matter, and he finally composed his greatest work of all—a poem about the decoration on a bedspread—which forms the heart of this biography, a work of beauty that will achieve immortality and make Catullus a legend.
Daisy Dunn
Daisy Dunn was born in London in 1987 and read Classics at the University of Oxford, before winning a scholarship to the Courtauld and completing a doctorate in Classics and History of Art at University College London. She writes and reviews for many publications, including The Daily Telegraph, Evening Standard, and Standpoint, and is editor of Argo, a Greek culture magazine. She was longlisted for the 2015 Notting Hill Editions Essay Prize.
Related to Catullus' Bedspread
Related audiobooks
Servilia and her Family Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Poison King: The Life and Legend of Mithradates, Rome's Deadliest Enemy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Satyricon Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAugustus: The Life of Rome's First Emperor Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Be a Bad Emperor: An Ancient Guide to Truly Terrible Leaders Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alaric the Goth: An Outsider's History of the Fall of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Life In Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Stop a Conspiracy: An Ancient Guide to Saving a Republic Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Chaucer: A European Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Cicero: The Life and Times of Rome's Greatest Politician Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Messalina: A Story of Empire, Slander and Adultery Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twelve Caesars: Images of Power from the Ancient World to the Modern Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Survive in Ancient Rome Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Classical World: An Epic History from Homer to Hadrian Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Tyrant: Shakespeare on Politics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Alexander of Macedonia: The World Conquered Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Hadrian and the Triumph of Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Fate of Rome: Climate, Disease, and the End of an Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roman Lives Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Civil War: 50-48 BC Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Emperor Charlemagne Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The October Horse: A Novel of Caesar and Cleopatra Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Princes of the Renaissance Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise of Rome: The Making of the World's Greatest Empire Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A History of Ancient Rome in 100 Lives Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsThe Annals of Tacitus: Excerpts Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Eternal City: A History of Rome Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5SPQR: A History of Ancient Rome Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Ten Caesars: Roman Emperors from Augustus to Constantine Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Rise of Athens: The Story of the World's Greatest Civilization Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Literary Biographies For You
The Unabridged Journals of Sylvia Plath Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Papillon Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Murder Your Life: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rude Talk in Athens: Ancient Rivals, the Birth of Comedy, and a Writer's Journey through Greece Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Distance Between Us: A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Bible: A Biography Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Poetry Unbound: 50 Poems to Open Your World Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Year of Magical Thinking Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Shakespeare Was a Woman and Other Heresies: How Doubting the Bard Became the Biggest Taboo in Literature Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Thousand Naked Strangers: A Paramedic's Wild Ride to the Edge and Back Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Roughing It Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Deliberate Cruelty: Truman Capote, the Millionaire's Wife, and the Murder of the Century Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Intelligence for Dummies: Essays and Other Collected Writings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Life and Times of Hannah Crafts: The True Story of The Bondwoman's Narrative Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A Moveable Feast Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Devil and Harper Lee Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lit: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A Heartbreaking Work of Staggering Genius: A Memoir Based on a True Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Glass Castle: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Real Lolita: The Kidnapping of Sally Horner and the Novel that Scandalized the World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5North of Normal: A Memoir of My Wilderness Childhood, My Unusual Family, and How I Survived Both Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5These Precious Days: Essays Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Shakespeare Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Professor and The Madman: A Tale of Murder, Insanity, and the Making of the Oxford English Dictionary Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Prairie Fires: The American Dreams of Laura Ingalls Wilder Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chronicles: Volume One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5People, Places, Things: My Human Landmarks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5'Tis: A Memoir Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Lives of the Wives: Five Literary Marriages Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Catullus' Bedspread
10 ratings0 reviews