The Golden Ass

This Latin novel of the second century follows Lucius, a young man in Thessaly whose curiosity about witchcraft gets him turned into a donkey while his mind remains human. In animal form he is beaten, stolen, and sold, and he hears tales from robbers, cooks, and priests, including the long inset story of Cupid and Psyche. He finally eats roses in the rites of Isis and is restored, becoming her initiate. The book is a comic and religious metamorphosis narrative, not a treatise on magic and not a collection of unconnected fables.

Bound in dark brown Indian goatskin blocked with an image and title in gold foil. Gilded top page edge. Maroon slipcase emblazoned with title in gold.