Jane F. Gardner describes how Roman law was based on the familia, a legal unit consisting of a male head and his legitimate descendants in the male line. Real Roman families, however, often did not fit this pattern. How did they exploit the rules to suit their own purposes, and how, under the influences of various social and demographic factors, were the rules themselves changed? For the social historian interested in gaining broad insights into the workings of Roman family law, Gardner's book offers many valuable conclusions ... The author's grasp of the complexities of her subject matter is impressive ... Gardner's analysis of cases cited in the Digest offers insight into social realities by giving brief glimpses of real families caught up in complicated legal and personal scenarios ... historians of the Roman family will definitely wish to keep the volume in their home libraries as a reference tool.