ABSTRACT
We could be led into thinking that we must picture the novel's reader as someone of little learning and accordingly low social standing. . . . However, our scant knowledge of the social structure of ancient readerships poses a serious hindrance to finding the definitive answer on this point. Only this much can be said with any degree of certainty: the number of people who were able and could afford to read a book purely for entertainment was still quite small, and comprised for the most part members of the upper and middle class. Within this group, novels quite probably even enjoyed a certain popularity ....
