Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction

A fascinating and original overview of the subject.

A really interesting read

Such a brilliant series - so accessible, concise, informative, and readable.

Excellent.

I found the print a little too small to be read comfortably at my age of nearly 82 so I won't be buying this series again otherwise the subject is very well treated, indeed 'multum in parvo'

Classical Literature: A Very Short Introduction by William Allan is to be thoroughly recommended to anyone unfamiliar with the world of the great books of the ancient Greeks (Hellenes) and Romans. It is concise and presents apposite short critiques of major works of "literature" which is just what readers need to decide if they should read or buy any such book. But this useful work because it seems to focus only on "literature" excludes philosophy and science and late Roman literature (e.g. Plato, Xenophon, Aristotle etc. and the major historians, Ammianus Marcellinus and Prokopios), major works by authors it does cover (e.g. The Moral Letters and all Seneca except the tragedies), and is completely silent on esoteric writing and reading (see Arthur Melzer's now standard work on this classic aspect of classical - and modern - literature). Given it is only 126 page of texts, surely some extra few pages (say 12) could have been devoted to including these features to expand this great little book's coverage, as first time readers may not come across reviews them elsewhere.

I have studied and still study Latin language ( a bit) but my general knowledge of classical literature as a whole is poor. This is a beautifully clear overview, with some helpful comparisons which made me laugh and some neat translations - a character called Umbricius is "Mr. Shady". A bargain. Actually, good bedtime readng !

You would not think that such a vast subject could in any way be done justice to in such a small book! Especially at the astonishingly cheap price! The next time you are on a train journey, or something equally tedious, take this book with you (it will fit into your pocket no bother!) and you will emerge refreshed, enlightened and with your mind improved no end. You might even want to learn more Classics! Whether you are a Classics expert and need your memory refreshed, or whether you have suffered from the ravages of modern education and therefore have missed out, this book is an excellent acquisition. The idiomatic translations are brilliant. The Dyskolos is called "the old git", and if you look hard enough you will find someone with the unlikely name of "Captain Blowjob". It is cracking, readable stuff from a man who clearly got the best out of the Scottish educational system in the nick of time before they threw it all away!

It's a short intro, as the series suggests, but surprising breadth of works covered. Insightful, and at times laugh out loud witty, encourages the reader to experience these classics directly.

Informative book. Though size is small, it gives the readers a peace of mind.

Well written and interesting.

This is a good book but its concept of what's considered to be classical literature is a little narrow. Anything that does not fall into a specific literary genre is not worthy of being included in the canon. So you won't see anything from philosophers like Plato's Republic/Symposium/etc or Marcus Aurelius Meditations which lots of people consider as literature. Historiography is considered one of the genres but giants like Xenophon are not mentioned but far less influential Roman authors are. Novels are covered but there is no mention of Lucian's A True Story which is considered to be the first "SciFi" book of all time. I can go on with these examples for a while, but I think you get the point. Other than this the book is pretty good and always AVSI series does not disappoint.