Author Description

Witness the Roman empire through the eyes of Pliny the Younger: statesman, storyteller, and eyewitness to extraordinary events. In this tiered reader, the letters of Pliny the Younger come alive-offering students a compelling gateway into authentic Latin while exploring themes, events, and ideas that still resonate today. From his gripping first-person account of Mount Vesuvius' eruption, to eerie tales of ghosts and marvels, from tender letters to his beloved wife Calpurnia to official correspondence with Emperor Trajan himself, Pliny's words reveal the private and public life of a Roman elite navigating empire, duty, superstition, and mortality. Carefully adapted to support Latin learners at multiple proficiency levels, this reader provides accessible, scaffolded versions of the AP Latin selections of Pliny the Younger's letters-ideal for classroom use as well as independent study.