The origin of this excellent book is D.'s Harvard Ph.D. thesis, and the jump from thesis to monograph has been very successful. It begins with a second-century mosaic representing a rural scene, where peasants undertake various tasks, while their landlords look on, relaxing and drinking wine. Another mosaic dated two centuries later presents a different picture, subservient peasants and fortified villas. The difficulty, of course, is in reconstructing reality from these images, and verifying and testing it with evidence, literary, documentary and archaeological. This is essentially the purpose of the book. It is a story of prosperity, rebellion, role reversal and the involvement of bishops and the church.

After an opening chapter presenting a historical overview, the book is divided into three parts, each with two chapters. Part 1, ‘The Making of the Peasant Consumer’, considers rural consumption in North Africa, before asking whether there was a ‘Consumer Revolution’ in late antique Africa. Africa was lucky in some respects, as it largely remained apart from the troubles of the third century and subsequent challenges. There was economic growth, development of rural settlements and a general prosperity. This resulted in increased rural consumption and the spread of ceramics not seen before in these rural areas, and increased circulation of coinage, which in turn suggests the development of a more sophisticated, monetised economy than previously. D. very capably marshals and discusses the archaeological evidence.

Part 2, ‘The Struggle for Community’, considers ‘Self-Governing Villages’, and the phenomenon of rural bishops. Villages and towns grew in the second and third centuries, and with growth came a desire for municipal status. D. argues that this had slowed down by the fourth century. Alongside this was the development of a staggering number of rural bishoprics, some 700 in number, which massively exceeds numbers in other parts of the Roman world. These are linked, so D. argues, to the social and economic developments discussed in Part 1: newly developed social and economic identities led to increased connections with the church and its leadership.

Part 3, ‘Preaching and Rebellion’, considers the relations between bishops and peasants, before turning to the case of the Circumcelliones, offering a new interpretation of their rebellious tendencies. It argues that these tensions and uprisings took place, not because of any inherent rebelliousness, but because of the social, religious and economic changes that had been taking place. It was a question, therefore, of wanting more, of having social and political concerns awakened by the developments in social identity and a new rural environment, and wanting to enjoy the same legal and social freedoms enjoyed by municipalities.

An appendix of identifiable rural bishoprics, extensive notes, full bibliography and a full index complete the volume. It is an excellent book, well researched and argued, which deserves to be read by any scholar or student of Roman and late antique Africa, and anyone interested in rural and municipal dynamics in Late Antiquity. It also helps to bridge the gap between Late Antiquity and the Middle Ages.