Ancient Rome’s most illustrious poet, Publius Vergilius Maro (aka Virgil) lived from 70-19 B.C. During those five decades, much history was made: The senators assassinated Caesar; Cleopatra committed suicide; Octavian became emperor. The Aeneid, sparked by Octavian’s request for a narrative that would pay tribute to his government, occupied the last decade of Virgil’s life, and although he died before he could finish it, the poem was immediately appreciated as a work of genius. Robert Fagles’ new translation of The Aeneid is a fluid, lyrical rendering of the epic. One of the world’s leading classicists, whose versions of the Iliad and the Odyssey have sold more than a million copies, Fagles brings a contemporary vigor to Virgil’s lines. Despite the passage of centuries, Aeneas remains a compelling protagonist, noble yet flawed, and his adventures an affair with Queen Dido of Carthage, a journey through the Underworld, the founding of Imperial Rome make for rousing reading. Fagles’ lively, accessible translation includes a glossary and notes, which serve to put this seminal saga in context.
Valiant Women is a vital and engrossing attempt to correct the record and rightfully celebrate the achievements of female veterans of World War II.
