A mid-Victorian comic look at Rome, which might be more appealing to some readers than drier, more serious works on the Eternal City. John Leech was a staff artist for "Punch" from its beginnings in 1841, while the author was one of the comic magazine's original staff writers. If Leech's illustrations appear more Victorian than Roman, the effect is purposeful, since the goal of the two men was to critique Victorian society itself. À Beckett displays both a gentle sense of humor and a deep familiarity with the content of the ancient sources. In his Preface he states this work has been prompted by a very serious desire to instruct those who, though willing to acquire information, seek in doing so as much amusement as possible.
