Hall

Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1804–1889) was a celebrated Classicist who enjoyed great success as a lecturer and as an author; his Latin Primer is still in use today. In this book, originally published in 1882, Kennedy provides both the original text of Aeschylus' Agamemnon, the first play in the Oresteia trilogy and one of the most famous extant Greek tragedies, as well as a metrical English translation and a broad commentary on, among other topics, the themes of the play, its metrical construction and variations in the various manuscripts. This book will be of value to Classics students seeking a guide to this intricate and influential play.

Described by Mary Beard in The Independent as 'the Rolls Royce of textbooks', Kennedy's classic 1888 guide has remained the pre-eminent Latin reference grammar in schools and universities for well over a century. This is a reissue of the first edition, which appeared the year before the author's death. Benjamin Hall Kennedy (1804–1889), headmaster of Shrewsbury School for thirty years before becoming Regius Professor of Greek at Cambridge, was probably assisted by his daughters in producing this completely revised version of an earlier, unsuccessful publication. From tables of nouns and verbs to obscure nuances of style, the book covered all the key points of Latin grammar and was detailed, well-organised and easy to use. This original Victorian edition will fascinate present-day students and teachers of Latin and historians of education.