I’m posting this rec list on Semicolon because Eldest Daughter seems to listen to me more attentively in print than viva voce. Also, I thought there might be some others out there with similar interests to those of Eldest Daughter who would enjoy the list of books I’ve found for her perusal. I haven’t actually read all of these, but they all sounded like something Eldest Daughter would like.

The Story of French by Nadeau et Barlow. Eldest Daughter spent nine months studying in Paris a couple of years ago, and she’s particularly interested in medieval French literature and the development of the French language. From the authors’ website:

When people think of the “French paradox,” they are usually thinking about how the French can eat rich foods and drink great quantities of wine yet somehow remain slim. But there is another French paradox, this one about the language: In spite of the ascendancy of English, French has held on to its influence. Where did this influence come from, and how has French retained it? These are the questions we set out to answer in The Story of French.”

Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin. Blurb at Amazon:

“In The Aeneid, Vergil’s hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word in the poem. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills. Lavinia grows up knowing nothing but peace and freedom, until suitors come. Her mother wants her to marry handsome, ambitious Turnus. But omens and prophecies spoken by the sacred springs say she must marry a foreigner—that she will be the cause of a bitter war—and that her husband will not live long. When a fleet of Trojan ships sails up the Tiber, Lavinia decides to make her own destiny, and she tells us what Vergil did not: the story of her life, and of the love of her life.”

Maybe this one would be of interest, too, although I don’t know as much about it: Jo Graham, Black Ships, Orbit, a retelling of The Aeneid; historical fantasy about a slave girl, an oracle, who guides Aeneas on his quest, due out March 2008.

Leif Enger’s new novel: So Brave, Young, and Handsome, due out May 14, 2008.

A Natural History of Latin by Tore Janson. Recommended by Carol at MagistraMater. “This book is for everyone who wants to know more about Latin, about the language and about its influence on the culture and history of Europe.”

The Baylor Project by Barry Hankins and Donald Schmeltkopf. St. Augustine’s Press, 2007. The book asks the question, “Can a Protestant university be a first class research institution and preserve its soul?” Since Eldest Daughter just graduated from Baylor, I thought she might be interested in the authors’ answers to that question.