Note on Availability: All Comprehensible Classics novellas and readers are available print-on-demand from Amazon, so they are always in stock. The links below are for customers in the US. If you are ordering from outside of the US, order from your regional Amazon site (e.g. customers in the UK should order from amazon.co.uk).
Want to use novellas with your students but your institution is going paperless? Digital subscriptions to most of my novellas are available through Storylabs and My Generation of Polyglots.
Novellas
Level A: Beginner
Ego Polyphemus
ISBN-10: 1719066434
Based on the works of the Vergil and Ovid, this novella is suitable for all beginning readers of Latin.
Polyphemus the Cyclops’ life is pretty simple: he looks after his sheep, hangs out in his cave, writes (horrible) poetry, eats his cheese . . . until one day a ship arrives on his peaceful island, bringing with it invaders and turning his peaceful world upside down.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Lars Romam Odit
ISBN-13: 979-8627942636
Lars is the king of Clusium, a city in ancient Italy, and it is good to be the king. He has fame, wealth, and power—everything he could ever want. He even has a best friend, Titus, the royal scribe.
But all good things must come to an end.
One day a king named Tarquinius arrives Clusium, asking Lars for help. Rome, a town close to Clusium, has kicked out Tarquinius and set up its own government. Lars vows to help his friend regain the throne, confident in the strength of his army and the loyalty of his people. But, as it turns out, capturing Rome may be more difficult than Lars ever imagined.
Available in paperback.
Mercurius Infans Horribilis
ISBN: 979-8599391883
Baby Mercury is not like an ordinary human baby; he can speak, he is incredibly strong, and he can even fly!
However, things aren’t always easy for the divine infant. Whenever he tries to help someone, things tend to go terribly wrong! And one day when little Mercury steals some cattle, the god Apollo is forced to track down the thief and try to set right all the chaos the mischievous infant has caused!
Available in paperback from Amazon.
ISBN: 979-8536107560
The barbarians are coming!
Aulus is a goose, who lives in ancient Rome on the Capitoline Hill. As one of Juno’s sacred geese, his job is to eat his food while the priests carefully observe his actions, looking for good or bad omens. One day when the Gauls arrived to invade Rome, Aulus thinks that he is responsible–he didn’t eat his food and therefore has brought bad fortune to the city! Driven by guilt, he wants to help fix the problem he thinks he created. But what can a little goose do to help defend the Romans against the invaders?
Based on a famous passage in Livy (5.47) and written for novice level readers of Latin, Aulus Anser uses a limited vocabulary to tell an entertaining and exciting tale.
Available in paperback.
Level B: Advanced Beginner
Familia Mala: Saturnus et Iuppiter
ISBN-13: 978-1986448611
They’re the original dysfunctional family! Rivalry! Jealousy! Poison! Betrayal! Gods! Titans! Cyclopes! Monsters! Magical Goats! Read all about the trials and tribulations of Greek mythology’s original royal family! Suitable for all novice Latin readers in their first year of study (and beyond), this novella is an adaption of myth of Saturn (Chronos) and his children retold into easy Latin. The book only assumes a vocabulary of 95 unique words.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Duo Fratres: Familia Mala, Vol. II
ISBN-13: 978-1733005210
Sibling Rivalry! Jealously! Theft! Fire! War! Robots! Volcanos! Man-Eating Vultures!
. . . And the world’s first brain surgery!
After the great war between the Titans and the gods, Titan brothers Prometheus and Epimetheus engaged in a dangerous game of sibling rivalry that escalates into betrayal, theft, and the punishment of the gods in this sequel to Familia Mala: Saturnus et Iuppiter.
Written in simple Latin and illustrated throughout by the author, this novella gives beginner and intermediate Latin readers a ring-side seat to the conflict.
One of the world’s most famous dysfunctional families is at it again!
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Pandora: Familia Mala Vol. III
ISBN-13: 978-1733005227
Jealousy! Treachery! Mysteries! Love Triangles! Pigs! Weddings! Transformations! Magic Potions! Volcanoes! Evil Spirits! Mechanical Frogs! And more!
Those crazy Olympians wreak havoc in heaven and earth in this action-packed, humorous adaptation of the myth of Pandora.
Although this is the third installment of the Familia Mala series of novellas, it can be read independently from the rest. This novella is suitable for novice level Latin learners of all ages.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Labyrinthus
ISBN-13: 978-1985727137
Princess Ariadna’s family is . . . well . . . complicated. Her father Minos, king of Crete, ignores her. Her mother is insane. Her half-brother is a literal monster—the Minotaur who lives deep within the twisting paths of the Labyrinth. When a handsome stranger arrives on the island, Ariadna is faced with the ultimate choice: should she stay on the island of Crete, or should she abandon her family and her old life for a chance at escape . . . and love? This Latin language novella is adapted from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” and Catullus’ “Carmen 64,” and is suitable for all novice readers of Latin. This novella was written using only 120 unique Latin words, 45 of which are close English cognates.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Level C: Low Intermediate
Clodia: Fabula Criminalis
ISBN-13: 979-8512507070
“I love you and I hate you at the same time.”
Love, lies, betrayal, extortion… just another day in the life of Clodia, a wealthy Roman woman, who will do anything to get what she wants. When she spots a handsome young poet named Catullus at a dinner party, this chance encounter sparks a whirlwind romance. Rather than leading to fairytale ending, however, this relationship brings only heartache, jealousy…
…and murder.
Clodia: Fabula Criminalis weaves fact and fiction into an intricate web of intrigue and drama and best suits advanced beginning or early intermediate readers of Latin. However, while it was written specifically for middle and high school students, more advanced readers will find much to enjoy as well.
Hold on tight! There are many twists ahead…
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Io et Tabellae Magicae (Io Puella Fortis Vol. 1)
ISBN-13: 979-8688032000
Io is tired of her life in a small town in ancient Greece. She is growing up fast but is frustrated that her mother still treats her like a child.
One day, Io finds a wax tablet and stylus in a mysterious clearing in woods. Io is surprised to discover that one the tablet is written a single sentence: “Hello, Io.”
Who left the message? How do they know Io’s name? Io immediately decides to solve this mystery, a decision that entangles her, her sister Eugenia, and her friend Chloe in a thrilling and dangerous adventure.
Io et Tabellae Magicae is the first volume of the two-part series Io Puella Fortis, and is continued in Io et Monstrum Horrificum. As with the other Comprehensible Classics novellas, this new book series uses a limited vocabulary to tell an exciting story accessable to advanced beginner Latin readers.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Io et Monstrum Horrificum (Io Puella Fortis Vol. 2)
ISBN-13: 979-8689732855
Io is tired of her life in a small town in ancient Greece. She is growing up fast but is frustrated that her mother still treats her like a child.
One day, Io finds a wax tablet and stylus in a mysterious clearing in woods. Io is surprised to discover that one the tablet is written a single sentence: “Hello, Io.”
Who left the message? How do they know Io’s name? Io immediately decides to solve this mystery, a decision that entangles her, her sister Eugenia, and her friend Chloe in a thrilling and dangerous adventure.
Io et Monstrum Horrificum is the second volume of the two-part series Io Puella Fortis continuing the story begun in Io et Tabellae Magicae. As with the other Comprehensible Classics novellas, this new book series uses a limited vocabulary to tell an exciting story accessable to advanced beginner Latin readers.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Via Periculosa
ISBN-13: 978-1973955542
Niceros is a Greek slave on the run in ancient Italy, avoiding capture, and seeking his one true love, Melissa. However, a chance encounter at an inn sets in motion a harrowing chain of events that lead to murder, mayhem, mystery, and a bit of magic. Loosely adapted from the Roman author Petronius, Via Periculosa (“The Dangerous Road”) is an exciting and surprising supernatural thriller suitable for Latin readers in the first year of study and beyond.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
Idus Martiae
ISBN-13: 979-8716488458
“Beware the Ides of March!”
It’s 44 BC, and strange things are happening in Rome. A sacrificed bull is found to have no heart. Senators are meeting in houses secretly, speaking in whispers and hiding in the shadows. A soothsayer is warning people in the streets to “beware the Ides of March.” Mysterious boxes are beginning to turn up… containing daggers. Pompeia, her brother Cornelius, and her friend Roscus set out to investigate these strange happenings and soon find themselves entangled in a web of intrigue, deception… and murder!
Written for low intermediate students of Latin, Idus Martiae is (loosely) based on Suetonius’ and Plutarch’s biographies of Julius Caesar.
Available in paperback from Amazon.
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