'a book which at its best is shrewd, observant, sensitive, and enlightening. J's skills in the close reading of a passage, in the identification of Ile petit fait significatif (as he would call it), in the demonstration of literary inheritance, and in the explanation of poetic art can be exemplary.' J.S.C. Eidinow, Classical Review.'J. is also good a analysing what he calls the 'prismatic effect' by which people and places are seen from different perspectives.
The associative qualities of proper names and changes of names and their significance to Virgil are also well brought out.' J.S.C. Eidinow, Classical Review.'This is a book which I have no hesitation in recommending strongly to students of pure classics and of classics in translation . it is a pleasure to use, as the print is large, the lay-out clear and the book deliberately free from scholastic clutter.'Herbert H.
Huxley, Jact Review, Series 2, No.27, Summer 2000.'Intelligent use of the 'Index of passages cited' will pay large dividends to students and teachers, as over nine hundred come from Virgil.'Herbert H. Huxley, Jact Review, Series 2, No.27, Summer 2000.'ample and leisurely book.'Elaine Fantham, Times Literary Supplement, 4th Feb 2000.
'instead of taking sides in the oscilating battle for or against Virgil's pessimism or anti-imperialism, it reaffirms his poetry as a work of art an imagination. And for this we should not be ungrateful.'Elaine Fantham, Times Literary Supplement, 4th Feb 2000.'The best thing about Richard Jenkyns's book is its readiness to shift critical attention away from Virgil's politics towards his treatment of places and their relation to history . what he has done - and it is no mean achievement - is to lead us towards many of the aspects of Virgil which make him so permanently rereadable.'Colin Burrow, LRB 2/3/00'a thrilling book. Richard Jenkyns writes with dash and style, his ear for poetry is superbly tuned, and his range is vast. Here is a scholar who, page after page, demonstrates a passion for Virgil as a poet.
'Peter Jones, Sunday Telegraph.