This is an engaging book, which beckons in the curious reader via the promise of an enticing mix of Graeco-Roman literature and the modern day. P. and W. guide us through the words and works of twelve prominent writers from antiquity, viewing them through the lens of later interpretations and assessing their impact. Having been inspired to compile this book following their involvement in developing a 2008 BBC Radio 3 series, they speak in their introduction of the ‘excitement, immediacy, and consequence [their emphasis]’ of engagement with these ancient literary luminaries.

The subjects are Homer, Sappho, Herodotus, Thucydides, Euripides, Caesar, Cicero, Virgil, Horace, Tacitus, Juvenal and Lucian. This is a fair cross section of material where variety of subject matter, style and nature of response are all of interest. Indeed the responses are often personal, such as when W. recalls her Latin teacher's cheerful attempts at extolling the attractions of Roman military strategy to her class who were reading Caesar as their introduction to the language. Caesar's Latin is ‘crystal-clear’ (p. 106), we are told – and I did wonder whether a cheeky nod to the frequent omission of the verb ‘to be’ in another work of history, that of Tacitus (p. 196), was being played on when we read that Caesar's Latin is easily grasped ‘because strictly obedient to the rules of Latin grammar’. That minor blip (if that is what it is) aside, such personal responses are interwoven with sometimes moving and evocative analysis of receptions and interpretations of the ancient material, for example when Homer and Virgil are demonstrated to have been both inspirational and affecting to soldiers involved in the two World Wars. This effect is enhanced by the warm, accessible writing style adopted here.

Ancient writers speak of concepts and situations with which we are able to be entirely sympathetic, but also by which we may be entirely horrified or puzzled. All should be embraced for their interpretative potential – both academically and otherwise. This gentle book, clearly a labour of love, shows that even those ancient voices which may sound ‘alien’ to us are not out of reach. Readers who take up the invitation to ‘correspond’ with the ancients (and also with those already involved in that correspondence) will surely be engaging with the important task of keeping our discipline fresh and attractive: in making lucid connections between the past and the present, through inviting new takes on familiar material and, further than that, potentially introducing the uninitiated to ‘voices’ they have not yet heard.

Where to go next? The usual suspects are catered for here – and that is no criticism. However, the punks, rebels and anarchists amongst us might want to see more. Lucian's inclusion is inspiring: the discussion of his comic genius and extraordinary subject matter leads me to ponder how those who wore their unruliness on their sleeves (as a Latinist, Lucan and Martial immediately spring to mind) have been absorbed by later readers. Perhaps a more ‘rock ‘n’ roll’ sequel will follow but until then, this book is an insightful and gently provocative read.