The Aeneid stands as a towering work of Classical Roman literature and a gripping dramatization of the best and worst of human nature. In the process of creating this epic poem, Vergil (70–19 BCE) became the world’s first media celebrity, a living legend. Through her intimate knowledge of Vergil’s work, Sarah Ruden brings to life a poet who was committed to creating something astonishingly new and memorable, even at great personal cost.

A detailed biography of Vergil should be impossible; but Sarah Ruden displays such subtlety, such imagination, such love for her subject, as to render the impossible possible.” —Tom Holland, author of Dominion

An enlightening and thoroughly modern introduction to Rome’s premier poet. This book should be required reading for every student and reader of Vergil’s immortal verse.”—Daisy Dunn, author of The Shadow of Vesuvius: A Life of Pliny