Congratulations to Henryk Hoffmann, the author of the book "Latin in Modern Fiction: Who Says It’s a Dead Language?" for receiving a review from Garrett Dome appearing in ‘Rhea Classical Review’:
The book offers readers a delightful survey of authors, particularly English and American, who have incorporated Latin into their writing. […] No prior knowledge of Latin or modern fiction is needed to find the book enjoyable. This reference book is great for fans of literature and classics, especially film aficionados.
[Extract from book review on ‘Rhea Classical Review’, Oct 10 2024. Reviewer: Garrett Dome]
You can find the full review here: Rhea Classical Review
The book is available to order here: "Latin in Modern Fiction: Who Says It’s a Dead Language?"
The goal of this book is to prove that Latin is not a dead language by demonstrating how prevalent and strong it still is in modern Western culture. In order to do so, the author, an English philologist with a long experience as a Latin educator, catalogues, explains and interprets Latin quotations and references in a multitude of twentieth- and twenty-first-century literary works by—primarily—mainstream authors (from Aldous Huxley to Saul Bellow to John Irving), crime/mystery writers (from Raymond Chandler to Elizabeth George to Dennis Lehane) and frontier/western novelists (from Emerson Hough to Larry McMurtry). The three areas of fiction constituting the main scope of the book indicate the author’s major interest and preference, as well as the subject matter of his extensive research, both prior and current—the former related to his already published books.
The writers offering the most impressive contributions to the thesis are featured in the three parts of the main body; those with lesser input are listed in the Appendix. The prospective readers of the book include all Latin students and educators at the secondary and college levels worldwide.
