When in Rome: Social Life in Ancient Rome is a vibrant and accessible social history of Rome from 753 BCE to the fall of the Empire some 1,300 years later. To support its findings, the book features hundreds of translations of inscriptions and graffiti from original authors – Roman, Greek and Jewish – and evidence culled from the visual arts, curse tablets, official records and letters, both private and official. Each comes with detailed commentaries, placing them into a social and historical context. The result is a fascinating survey of how Roman men, women and children lived their lives on a daily basis taking in marriage, slavery, gladiators, medicine, magic, religion, superstition and the occult as well as sex, work and play, education, death, housing, country life and city life.

There are also chapters on domestic violence, family pets and female genital mutilation. In short, When in Rome gives a vivid description of what the Romans really did.