Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet

Catullus’ Bedspread: The Life of Rome’s Most Erotic Poet
Daisy Dunn

Living through the debauchery, decadence and political machinations of the crumbling Great Republic, Gaius Valerius Catullus’s fervent poetry was filled with emotion, wit and lurid insight into some of the republic’s most enduring figures. In his own scandalous love affairs brimmed all the decadence, debauchery and spectacle of his time.Born in Verona in c. 82BC, Catullus’ name remains famous after two thousand years for the sharp, immediate poetry with which he skewered society in the great Republic. From mocking political Rome’s sparring titans – Pompey, Crassus and his father’s friend, Julius Caesar – to his wry observations of cavorting youths, money-grabbing brothel-keepers or slaves who knew too much, Catullus was a reckless forefather of social satire. But it was by his erotic, scandalous but tender love elegies that he became known, remaining a monumental figure of reference for poets from Ovid and Virgil onwards.Tracing his journey across youth and experience, from Verona to Rome, Bithynia to Lake Garda, Daisy Dunn rediscovers the world of Catullus’ passions. She explores the adventures at sea described by his breathless syllables, the private dinners, lovers’ trysts and power games all amid the trembling death of the Roman republic, written with a wit and energy that Catullus would surely have enjoyed.

Copyright (#ulink_ab9cb94f-08dc-5332-9afa-9f2abf19daa0)

William Collins

An imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers

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London SE1 9GF

WilliamCollinsBooks.com (http://www.WilliamCollinsBooks.com)

First published in Great Britain by William Collins in 2016

This William Collins paperback edition published in 2017

Copyright © Daisy Dunn 2016

Cover photograph © akg-images/Rainer Hackenberg

Maps by John Gilkes

Daisy Dunn asserts the moral right to be identified as the author of this work

A catalogue record for this book is available from the British Library

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Source ISBN: 9780007554324

Ebook Edition © ISBN: 9780007554348

Version: 2016-11-28

Praise for Catullus’ Bedspread: (#ulink_f84d8017-24a3-50fb-9fe2-93a00577190a)

‘A lively, finely crafted biography. Weaving well-researched social history with a compelling account of political machinations in Rome, the picture here is not just of a libertine prone to writing of his obscene desires, but a soulful man at the heart of a remarkable age’

Observer

‘For all those of us who love counting stars, none burns brighter in the literary firmament than that of Gaius Valerius Catullus – Dunn’s brilliant new biography of the Roman master will shine beams of light on his darkly passionate poetry’

Professor Paul Cartledge

‘The task of piecing together a biography from verse alone is one that Dunn performs with creativity and diligence’

The Times

‘Hugely enjoyable … Daisy Dunn lifts the lid on an era and world that remains engrossing two millennia on’

Catholic Herald

‘Dunn writes beautifully and clearly adores her subject. She deserves plaudits for bringing this fine poet and his tumultuous times so vividly to life’

Daily Mail

‘This is a rewarding, idiosyncratic book … Catullus would certainly applaud’

Country Life

‘Not since Nicola Shulman’s Graven with Diamonds has literary criticism seemed so thrilling. An imaginative, enriching and quick-witted book reminds us that Catullus is a poet for all time’

Standpoint

‘Lyrical, playful and startlingly original … Breathes extraordinary new life into the classical world. An unforgettable journey into the high art and low life of ancient Rome’

Dan Jones

‘Young classicist and art historian Daisy Dunn imaginatively revive[s] this most accessible of Roman poets … an intelligent and often original interpreter of the poetry [she] provides clear, direct and readable translations’

Financial Times

‘Enjoyable and diligently researched … Dunn is a sure-footed and elegant literary critic, particularly when it comes to poem 64, the scintillating mini-epic (Dunn’s own deft version is included as an appendix; and she has translated, with bright-eyed intelligence, all the poems in another volume.) … Catullus’ Bedspread is richly woven, and Dunn’s deep passion for her subject is patent’

Spectator

‘Any reader of Catullus will want to have this book’

Literary Review

Dedication (#ulink_3adb7b5d-396b-5b4f-8620-7f8aeba7d200)

For my parents and my sister, Alice

Epigraph (#ulink_3ff85f5d-0ed4-54b9-8ba4-7a90cf6652e7)

This bedspread,

Embroidered with the shapes of men

Who lived long ago, unveils the virtues of heroes

Through the miracle of art

Contents