When was the last time you read a new Latin text without a dictionary to hand? There are many new Latin texts published over the past five years which have not been reviewed in this journal. These are in the new genre of Latin ‘novellas’ which are aimed at those who are in the earlier stages of Latin. Over 100 have been self-published, and more are coming out every month. They are little known in the UK – as far as I can see only two have been reviewed in JCT. They are a manifestation of the transformation of Latin teaching in some schools in the USA. The driving force behind them is the theory of Comprehensible Input – the belief that a person's acquisition of a language is improved by reading (or hearing) large quantities of text for comprehension at a level that is not much beyond their current level. For a fuller survey, see Hunt (2022)Footnote ¹Footnote ¹.

Piantaggini is a leading exponent of this approach, and he has himself written and self-published 19 novellas so far. He has extensive experience of teaching first year Latin in a USA High School (equivalent to UK Year 10) to the full ability range and he has thought extensively about new approaches to make Latin fully inclusive (see his blog at https://magisterp.com and ‘Input-Based Activities’ in JCT Spring issue of 2019).

In looking at P.'s Poenica purpuraria, we need to take into account what level he is writing for, and the fact that he decides to shield (i.e. limit) vocabulary but not grammar. But more than anything, we need to consider whether the content is ‘compelling’, that is appeals to his target audience so they want to continue reading.

The story centres on an independent, single woman called Poenica. She runs a purple-dyeing business and despite being blind is also a skilled tightrope walker. In the novella, she has four customers, all having their own special dyeing requirements. The last customer is a gladiator – who brings an unexpected twist to the story.

The story, some 1,600 words in length, aimed at early beginners, is told using 16 cognates (Latin words with identical meaning to the English word) and 19 other Latin words. It uses line drawings liberally to help establish and remind the reader of meaning. There is a complete list of vocabulary at the back, which includes each inflected form. The typeface is large, with each clause starting on a new line. The text is divided into 11 chapters so the episodes are clearly delineated.

Given these severe constraints, can P. tell a good story? P. shows some skill in developing the storyline using such limited vocabulary. The succession of customers means that there is scope for repetition in each initial encounter. Some of the quirks of characterisation are of the kind that will appeal to the average 15 year old. I can imagine ideas of this kind arising in some of P.'s classes but it would not work in every class. There is some charm in the detail and ingenuity in giving shape to the simple narrative.

How does he achieve comprehensibility for his inexperienced readers? While he does not shelter grammar, he does provide a translation in a footnote where the meaning would not otherwise be immediately apparent. The vocabulary is very limited and repeated a great deal, which helps make new words stick so they do not need to be formally memorised. The clauses are all very short – few have more than five words – and the longer sentences (which are relatively rare) are coordinated rather than subordinated.

The novella is at the opposite end of the spectrum from most textbooks which use a very wide range of vocabulary to bring interest to the narrative. The repetition may grate to some readers and the style of Latin may be a barrier for many teachers. The words are not infrequently arranged in a subject-verb-object word order which some may consider to be a useful compromise in the initial stages of learning the language. Some of the expressions are more rooted in modern speech than in idiomatic Latin, and some of the cognates do not read well: and the repetition makes this more noticeable to a reader more attuned to a classical Latin style. This may not be noticed by students if they are focused on the characterisation of Poenica and her customers, but some teachers may be concerned by exposing students to non-standard Latin at an early stage. They may agree with Erasmus in his de copia verborum ac rerum: ‘Itaque plurimum errant qui nihil arbitrantur interesse, quibus verbis quae res efferatur, modo utcunque possit intelligi’. (Those who think it makes no difference with what words a matter is expressed, provided that it can be understood in some way or other, make a very big mistake.)

Could this novella be used in the UK? Most schools have nothing like the timetabled time of USA high schools, and so it might seem out of the question. However, reading at a more normal speed without having to translate everything can be a liberating experience and encourage students. It may certainly be worth trying novellas as an additional resource for a student who routinely finishes work quickly as something that can be read independently, or at the end of the year after internal exams. However, I suspect that most teachers in the UK would want to look at a level which was above this novella.