Cambridge University Press is to be commended for undertaking the publication of this monumental project. More than 1,000 pages provide the definitive guide to the vast subject of translations (and imitations and travesties) of Virgil. B. has crowned her career with a magnificent resource, one that is an unfailing delight to peruse, to study closely and to consult either at leisure or in earnest.

Many adjectives come to mind as one works through B.’s book. ‘Astonishing’ is the one that recurred to me most often. The sheer volume of information that is recorded here (accompanied by a generous use of illustrations and plates) should satisfy anyone interested in the problem of how to render Virgil into the various vernaculars. Along the way, readers are treated to nothing less than an intellectual history of how the poet has been read across time and space. This is a key title in the bibliography on Virgilian reception, one that is sure to be cherished by scholars and students in comparative literature, modern foreign languages, the history of ideas and Classics.

Let me begin at the end. B. offers two appendices of immense value, one with miniature biographies of major Virgilian translators, and the other with a table of the translations that she discusses. These are invaluable resources, especially in conjunction with the massive bibliography she provides. They will be frequently consulted as essential guides to the subject.

The main body of the book is divided into eleven thematic sections. The first (called ‘Chapter 0’) sets out to map how one might approach such a daunting subject (it could have been called an introduction, though admittedly it is much more than this). B. explains why she did not pursue a chronological or language-by-language organisational scheme. She makes a reasonable case that the former would have been ‘impossible’ (whether it would have also been ‘boring’ is more open to debate). This first (or noughth) chapter would be a fine entry syllabus assignment for Virgilian reception studies in and of itself. It touches on such familiar, cherished jewels of the poet’s Nachleben as the Imtheacta Aeniasa and the Roman d’Énéas.

Chapter 1 tackles the thorny subject of nationalism and the employment of Virgil translators as a mark of national pride in a vernacular. The second chapter focuses on particular translators of note and their relationship with their patrons, colleagues and times. The third (in some regards one of the most interesting) considers the practical problems of publishing books and the economics of producing translations of Latin classics. Expanding on this and related topics further, the fourth chapter delves into the question of competition between rival translators. Chapter 5 zooms in on the poetic careers of a selection of particularly noteworthy Virgil translators (this is another high point of a uniformly engaging and profitable study). The sixth chapter moves on to the rich array of partial translations of Virgil that have peppered the bibliography (from the pens of poets both celebrated and more obscure). Chapter 7 tackles the ‘thirteenth book’ of Maffeo Vegio and related para-Virgilian and supplemental material. My favourite chapter is the eighth, which examines in rich detail the tension between fidelity to Virgil’s language and metre and the exigencies of vernacular languages. Chapter 9 is a sibling to its predecessor, pondering at length the challenges of translating various Virgilian concepts and images effectively and more or less faithfully into other languages. Expanding on themes intimated in its predecessor, the tenth and last chapter explores ways in which translations seek to portray figures like Aeneas as emblematic of diverse ideals, national aspirations and literary-philosophical archetypes.

This brief survey of the contents of the volume does not do justice to how much material has been digested and assembled here. As a collector and fan of more obscure Vergiliana, I can attest to the degree of comprehensive coverage of its subject that is on display. It is breathtaking in its scope and the rigour of its analysis. Those familiar with B.’s earlier work on Virgilian translators will profit from this deeper dive into familiar waters, while those coming to the subject as neophytes will be inspired to look at B.’s other publications and to hunt down an Aeneid or Georgics translation in their favourite target language.

One of the many virtues of B.’s book is that it successfully satisfies two not always readily reconcilable goals. First, this is a reference work. One can easily look up detailed information about a particular Virgilian translation or about the history of Virgilian reception in a given language or country. Second, this is a monograph that attempts to draw an intellectual roadmap to connect centuries of reflections on the premiere poet of Augustan Rome. Not everyone will agree with the organisational choices made by B. or with the way in which so copious a reserve of material is distilled into less than a dozen chapters. A few ambitious souls will undertake to read the volume cover to cover, and such readers will be richly rewarded for their devotion. Most, I suspect, will dip into the book to study a particular poet or national tradition. Consultation of this sort is more than likely to result in a profitable hour or two lost in looking at adjoining pages and chapters. There is an addictive quality to B.’s careful blend of conveyance of necessary information with erudite, seasoned commentary and criticism.

One can dream, but it would provide a marvellous resource if someone would publish an anthology of passages to accompany this volume, drawn from the rich selections that B. has assembled here, together with expanded texts. Such is the value of this resource that it merits a more manageable, ‘student-sized’ edition.

The proofreading is uniformly excellent (no small feat on such a project). The binding, I fear, could be better, but in an age that has tended to devalue the codex in favour of the portable document format, one is grateful for a production that on the whole is above average.

The passing years never fail to add new titles to the Virgil bibliography. B.’s Translating Virgil is a candidate for the best such addition for 2025, a marvel of learned, witty reflection on the history of centuries of grappling with Virgil’s virtually untranslatable language. It more than merits a place on the shelves of anyone interested in Latin poetry, vernacular literary traditions, western intellectual history and the reception of the classics.