Delphi Classics Ltd: 53 books

The leading orator and rhetorician of his age, Fronto has left behind an invaluable correspondence, providing a window into the aristocratic life and literary culture of second century Rome. His letters reveal the author’s strong stylistic views and dislike of Stoicism. Charting his family joys...

A Greek Stoic philosopher of the first and second century, Epictetus settled permanently in Nicopolis in Epirus, where he founded his own school, which he called a ‘healing place for sick souls.’ There he taught a practical philosophy, which has been recorded by his principal student Arrian, the...

Callimachus of Cyrene, famed scholar of the Library of Alexandria, was among the most productive and influential poets of the Hellenistic age. A master of the short poetic form, Callimachus rejected epics modelled after Homer, setting a literary trend for miniaturistic detail. Delphi’s Ancient Classics...

An Egyptian priest that flourished in the third century BC, Manetho wrote ‘Aegyptiaca’ (History of Egypt), which provided a detailed history of his homeland to the Hellenic world. Although his original texts are now largely lost, important remains have survived, transmitted to us as fragments...

A second century theologian from Carthage, Tertullian was an important early Christian writer, who produced an extensive corpus of literature. As the initiator of ecclesiastical Latin, he was instrumental in shaping the vocabulary and thought of Western Christianity. Tertullian has been described...

The Roman engineer Vitruvius is the author of the celebrated treatise ‘De architectura’, a handbook for ancient architects. Vitruvius studied Greek philosophy and science and gained experience in the course of his professional work. Appointed to be an overseer of imperial artillery and military...

The student and successor of Aristotle, Theophrastus of Eresus is the author of one of the most important botanical works to have survived antiquity. A polymath and enthusiast of many interests, his studies explored all aspects of human knowledge and experience, especially natural science. On a social...

A giant of eighteenth century literature, William Congreve was an English playwright and poet of the Restoration period. His poetry demonstrates a learned understanding of the classics, raw satirical power and an ironic scrutiny of the affectations of his age. Congreve’s famous plays are celebrated...

Norse sagas concern tales of ancient Nordic and Germanic history, detailing early Viking voyages, the battles that took place during these voyages, exotic adventures in foreign lands and the migration to Iceland. These prose sagas were written in the Old Norse language, sharing similarities with epic...

One of the most famous English novelists of the latter half of the nineteenth century, R. D. Blackmore won acclaim for his vivid portrayals of the countryside, sharing with Thomas Hardy a Western England background prevalent in many of his works. Blackmore’s masterpiece is ‘Lorna Doone’, a windswept...

Affectionately known as the Bard of Bengal, Rabindranath Tagore was also a celebrated novelist, short-story writer, essayist and playwright, who introduced new prose and verse forms into Bengali literature, freeing it from traditional models based on classical Sanskrit. Highly influential in introducing...

An American author of the Interwar period, Willa Cather achieved recognition for her nostalgic novels of frontier life on the Great Plains. Her novels are noted for their atmospheric and vivid portrayals of the landscape and the lives of settlers, immortalising Nebraska’s pioneer life. In 1923 Cather...

An American author of the Interwar period, Willa Cather achieved recognition for her nostalgic novels of frontier life on the Great Plains. Her novels are noted for their atmospheric and vivid portrayals of the landscape and the lives of settlers, immortalising Nebraska’s pioneer life. In 1923 Cather...

Sir Thomas More was an English lawyer, philosopher, statesman and noted Renaissance humanist. He famously served as the Chancellor of England, being sentenced and beheaded for refusing to accept King Henry VIII as head of the Church of England. Today More is recognised as a saint by the Roman Catholic...