Markets and fairs played a fundamental part in the commerce of the Mediterranean region in the Roman period. But where were they held, and what commodities were sold there? Using evidence from archaeology, inscriptions, and literary sources, Dr Frayn builds up a detailed and enlivening picture of stalls and stallholders, profiteering, and price control in ancient Italy, and invites comparison with medieval and modern practices. Besides the macella, or permanent markets in towns, Dr Frayn also looks at the much more numerous nundinae, or local markets, held every eight days, and the many fairs and festivals throughout Italy where retailing took place, often associated with shrines and characterized by religious motifs. The book includes a discussion of the economic and social effects of markets and fairs, including their relation to geography, demography, and modern `central place theory'. There is also a chapter on market law, which can be traced from the ius commercii to the supervision of weights, measures, and pricing. As trade contacts widened, and merchandise grew more diverse, markets and marketing evolved with increasing complexity into a highly developed system, which in the wake of conquest came to influence larger areas of inter-regional trade.

Jean Anouilh's sharp and witty new play, which enjoyed a season at the Queen's Theatre, London, centres around the ageing, gout-stricken and passe playwright Leon Saint-Pe, as he struggles manfully to being a new play, provisionally entitled Les Miserables, despite the constant interruptions and selfish demands of his utterly egocentric family and friends. A master of the art of dramatic contrivance, Anouilh displays his usual stylish blend of cynicism and subtle irony when he has Leon, eventually deciding that everyone on earth is wholly self-centred, rechristen his play, Number One.5 women, 5 men