{"product_id":"9780674994980","title":"Metamorphoses (The Golden Ass), Volume II : Books 7-11 by Apuleius","description":"A beguiling tale of mistaken transformation.   In the Metamorphoses of Apuleius, also known as The Golden Ass, we have the only Latin novel which survives entire. It is truly enchanting: a delightful romance combining realism and magic.   The  hero, Lucius, eager to experience the sensations of a bird, resorts to  witchcraft but by an unfortunate pharmaceutical error finds himself  transformed into an ass. He knows he can revert to his own body by  eating rose-petals, but these prove singularly elusive; and the bulk of  the work describes his adventures as an animal. He also retails many  stories that he overheard, the most charming being that of Cupid and  Psyche (beginning, in true fairy-tale fashion, `Erant in quadam civitate rex et regina').  Some of the stories are as indecent as they are witty, and two in the  ninth book were deemed by Boccaccio worthy of inclusion in the Decameron.  At last the goddess Isis takes pity on Lucius. In a surprising  denouement, he is restored to human shape and, now spiritually  regenerated, is initiated into her mysteries. The author's baroque Latin  style nicely matches his fantastic narrative and is guaranteed to hold a  reader's attention from beginning to end.   The Loeb Classical Library edition of Apuleius is in three volumes.\u003cbr\u003eBinding: Hardback","brand":"Gardners","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":56293979619701,"sku":"9780552559218","price":24.95,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/7193\/3106\/files\/9780674994980.jpg?v=1762760978","url":"https:\/\/backstory.london\/products\/9780674994980","provider":"Backstory","version":"1.0","type":"link"}