The Aeneid

By: Virgil, Robert Fitzgerald - translator

Narrated by: Christopher Ravenscroft

Length: 8 hrs and 40 mins

Publisher's summary

Robert Fitzgerald's magnificent translation of Virgil's epic poem was a major literary event at its release in 1983; today it is an acknowledged masterpiece. Profoundly poetic yet gloriously accessible, this is the best way to experience a work that has remained a centerpiece of Western civilization for 2,000 years. Fitzgerald's rendering speaks directly to the modern listener, inviting us to share the excitement, adventure, and human tears as Aeneas, the warrior hero, escapes from the burning city of Troy, embarks on a long and perilous journey, and eventually, triumphantly establishes a new nation: Rome.

©1980 Translation by Robert Fitgerald (P)1995 HighBridge Company.

Critic reviews

"Fitzgerald's is so decisively the best modern Aeneid that it is unthinkable that anyone will want to use any other version for a long time to come." ( The New York Review of Books)

Could be better

Much of the book is skipped over and if you want the full story you have to read the book.

All the emotion alive in Ravenscroft' reading

I read along too. better if unabridged.

but very moving as is. Thrilling actually.

parts missing.

The audiobook was easy to listen to. However I was reading along with the audiobook and found that the reader would skip parts of the passages being read. As I was reading this book and making notes I found it at times difficult to know where the reader went with his reading. Not that the parts that were skipped were integral to the story, however, if you using the audiobook to read and make notes it causes confusion and a slowing down of reading the material. This is my main concern for students who are trying to read the story of Aeneid and be ready to discuss in class. Otherwise, if you are just listening to the audiobook you would not notice the skip parts and would enjoy the story.

A lot of text is skipped.

I listened to this as I read the book (same translator and same edition) and there is a lot of skipped text. Granted, you still get the important parts of the story but it is still a significant amount that is skipped over.

The Aeneid

I disliked how the reading wasn’t line for line. Sometimes it’d skip a whole paragraph. I also didn’t like how the chapters were grouped in one recording, instead of each of the 12 books of The Aeneid having its own. Other than that, I found the audible to be enjoyable, and would recommend it to other students as well.

The Legend of Rome and Caesar Augustus

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

This book is easy to understand, fascinating and helps one better understand Greek myths and Roman mythology.

What did you like best about this story?

The first part of this book is adventurous, like the Odyssey, and the second is fighting, like the Iliad. The best of both books, though not as much of a smash and bang cacaphony like the Iliad, and it has the better storyline of the Odyssey.

Have you listened to any of Christopher Ravenscroft’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

I have not.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No it did not. It was strictly read for school purposes, though I would listen to it again.

Any additional comments?

Hard to tell exactly where you are. Not much warning of which chapter your in, so if this is for school purposes, you may want to get the Robert Fitzgerald translation in the actual book. Be warned, the two are not fully parallel, the audio will occasionally skip up to five pages or more just to get to the point, this can cause confusion. The two for the most part read the same.

Convenient

This was very convenient as the book was very boring to read and this just helped me cut through that.

Abridged!

Nice music, steady pacing, clear enunciation, and passionate delivery.

However, this reading abridged many key sections of the text. Beware!

This book is not unabridged.

The description says this book is unabridged. It is not. It skips sections here and there and the vast majority of book III is left out.

Great, but abridged

The performance is really good. Of course the story is awesome, it's the Aenied, and I love the Fitzgerald translation. The only issue with this recording it that it is abridged. Most of book 3 is missing and some of the best scences from book 5 are also missing. I followed along with the Vintage Classic edition and had to pause occasionally to find what were it skipped to and read the missing information. Overall I would recommend this recording and it was an enjoyable experience.