"Ms. Ruden has converted the writer of the Aeneid from a noble and stodgy 'ancient' into our contemporary . persuasively re-imagined [as] a sympathetic, three-dimensional figure. The existence of the Aeneid is cause for gratitude. So is Ms. Ruden's sensitive, celebratory portrait of its maker."--Willard Spiegelman, Wall Street Journal "Rigorously researched. Ruden is a considerable scholar who conveys the brilliance of the Aeneid concisely.

"--Harry Mount, The Spectator "It is hard to imagine Sarah Ruden's wise, insightful, and engaging Vergil: The Poet's Life being bettered."--Max Carter, Air Mail "A classicist and masterful translator, Ruden reconstructs and reimagines Vergil's life. The book is informed by Ruden's verse rendering of The Aeneid , which this reviewer considers the best translation of The Aeneid available in English for its accuracy and prosody. Ruden . offers fresh insight into Vergil's highly fraught relationship with Octavian (later Augustus) and with the power dynamics of literary patronage. Essential."--P. E.

Phillips, Choice "Sarah Ruden has done the impossible in giving us an Olympian biography of Rome's paramount poet. Vergil: The Poet's Life is now the greatest companion piece to reading Vergil's enduring poetry."--Paul Krause, University Bookman "A detailed biography of Vergil should be impossible; but Sarah Ruden displays such subtlety, such imagination, such love for her subject as to render the impossible possible."--Tom Holland, author of Dominion "An enlightening and thoroughly modern introduction to Rome's premier poet. This book should be required reading for every student and reader of Vergil's immortal verse."--Daisy Dunn, author of The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny "In this engaging account, Sarah Ruden brings Vergil back as a living, breathing person, navigating issues of politics, sexuality, class, and culture that we still confront today."--Randall Ganiban, Middlebury College.