Bristol Classical Press A.E. Housman: Classical Scholar

A.E. Housman (1859-1936) was a man of many apparent contradictions, most of which remain unresolved 150 years after his birth. At once a deeply emotive lyric poet and a precise and dedicated classical scholar, he achieved fame in both of these diverse disciplines. Although his poetic legacy has received much scholarly analysis, and yet more attention has been devoted to reconstructing his private life, no previous work has focused on Housman the classical scholar; yet it is upon scholarship that Housman most wished to leave his mark. This timely collection of papers by leading scholars reassesses the breadth and significance of Housman's contribution to classical scholarship in both his published and unpublished writings, and discusses how his mantle has been passed on to later generations of classicists. Review In short, this is well-produced book and it presents a balanced assessment of Housman the scholar. He possessed a wide-ranging intellect; his conjectures were often brilliant (even if not always correct); he had little regard for the history of manuscript tradition; and he in many ways symbolized the changes taking place in the field of classics as it professionalized in the early twentieth century. Butterfield, Stray, et al. have done an excellent job of restoring Housman to his proper place in the history of classical scholarship and of reminding us that there is more to Housman than his poetry. About the Author Editors: David Butterfield is the W.H.D. Rouse Research Fellow at Christ's College, Cambridge; Christopher Stray is an Honorary Research Fellow in the Department of Classics at Swansea University. Contributors: D.J. Butterfield, Christ's College, Cambridge; E. Courtney, University of Virginia; J. Diggle, Queens' College, Cambridge; S.J. Heyworth, Wadham College, Oxford; N. Hopkinson, Trinity College, Cambridge; E.J. Kenney, Peterhouse, Cambridge; J.H.C. Leach, Pembroke College, Oxford; L. Lehnus, University of Milan; G. Luck, Johns Hopkins University; R.G.M. Nisbet, Corpus Christi College, Oxford; S.P. Oakley, Emmanuel College, Cambridge; M.D. Reeve, Pembroke College, Cambridge; C.A. Stray, Swansea; G.D. Williams, Columbia University.