Classical Literature

Description: "First published in the United Kingdom in 2015 by the Penguin Book Group."--T.p. verso.

Review Quotes: Kirkus Reviews
"A deft distillation of 1,000 years of literature. Classicist Jenkyns crafts a concise and spirited overview of poetry, drama, and prose from Homer to post-Augustan Rome, focusing on a broad swath of writers.... Jenkyns' enthusiasm and erudition infuse a shrewd, illuminating narrative."

J. E. Lendon, professor of history, University of Virginia, and author of Song of Wrath and Soldiers and Ghosts
"In outlining the lofty, uncompromising, literary tradition of ancient Greece and Rome, by some magic Richard Jenkyns preserves and conveys the nobility and sublimity of his subject. The reader for whom this book is an introduction to the Classics will come away with a grasp of why classical writings are the irreplaceable soul of the West, while the reader who fancies his classical learning will be humbled by a rush of new ideas about works he or she thought long tamed."

Christopher Pelling, Emeritus Regius Professor of Greek, University of Oxford
"If you want to know why the best classical authors are very, very good, this is the book for you--beautifully written, with a feeling for style on every page. If you want to know why some are not so good, this is the book for you too: Jenkyns does not mince his value judgments, and that makes it an even more refreshing read."