Cover of Gens et Gloria, a Latin novel by Rowan X. Adler set in the Roman Empire

Professor Terence Tunberg,  University of Kentucky writes about Gens et Gloria:

"Litterarum Latinarum rerumque Romanarum studiosos magno opere hortor ut hanc mythistoriam splendide scriptam perlegant. Quicumque hanc narrationem veri simillimam legere coeperit, se non tantum in urbe Roma et inter Romanos veteres versari, sed etiam illo aevo vivere et vigere, quo imperium Romanum maxime viguerit, paene pro certo habebit!"



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Cover of Gens et Gloria, a Latin novel by Rowan X. Adler set in Roman Africa

Hoc volumen in manus sumite, O lectores! Hoc volumen evolvite! Etenim inibi continetur pars altera mythistoriae luculente scriptae, quae Gens et gloria est nuncupata. In huius opusculi lectione quasi defixi quoddam iter facere videbimini non solum Latine loquentes, sed etiam cum ipsis Romanibus veteribus colloquentes! Quo iter facietis? Romamne? Minime gentium! Ibitis in Mauretaniam Tingitanam, ubi cum leonibus et legionibus versabimini, in mapalibus et tuguriis, in oppidis et urbibus res mirabiles videbitis. Non Romae, non in Italia, sed in ipso dicionis Romanae limite discetis 'ibi Romanum imperium esse, ubicumque Romana lingua dominetur'!

ProfessorTerence Tunberg, University of Kentucky

Calendarium MMXXVI
Latin Calendar 2026

Modern weekday layout with both contemporary date numbers and ancient Roman calendar formulas (Kalends, Nones, Ides)

Notation of traditional Roman religious festivals and public holidays


Latina Laeta – Learn Latin Through a Living Roman World

20 books. One Roman world. A living language.

Latina Laeta is a twenty-book Latin reader series (A1–B2) using the Natural Method — or Comprehensible Input approach — that lets learners live inside early Imperial Rome through continuous, authentic Classical Latin prose, woven with original stage pieces written in the Plautine or Terentian style.

You follow the same characters across years and places: the senator’s household, poor families in the Subura, ports and markets, theaters in Africa, Ephesus under Roman law, and Campania before Vesuvius.

You see the Roman world through the eyes of its people and grow into Latin naturally as they grow older — from the play of children to the responsibilities of adults.

Across twenty volumes you experience love and birth, marriage and death, crime and judgment, travel and discovery — from fighting in Syria to mystery and intrigue in Asia, from exotic adventures in Roman Africa to the quiet humor, laughter, and sadness of daily life. Every emotion of the human story is present — told in living Latin.

And unlike any textbook, Latina Laeta reads like a novel — an unfolding world where language, character, and history come alive together. Serious Latin, real stories — and fun to read.

📘 Preview the world of Latina Laeta — read one full chapter from each of the twenty books, followed by the complete play Gallinae Albae Filius from Book B1.1, and experience the progression, style, and humor for yourself.
Read the free sample collection → Click here

What makes Latina Laeta different

• A single, continuous world. Spurius and Flaminia grow from children into adults; Blossius walks the road from tavern boy to actor and beyond; Cornelia, Florus, and the household — Naeva, Syrus, Crispus, Aemilia — form a living Roman microcosm.
• Pure, idiomatic Classical Latin (c. AD 70–120). Clear Silver-Age prose and natural dialogue modeled on Terence, Suetonius, Pliny, Quintilian, and Petronius.
• More than 419,000 words of original Latin — prose, comedy, and tragedy — all newly written in pure Classical style. This unprecedented length provides the sustained reading practice Latin learners have always needed but rarely receive: enough to acquire vocabulary and grammar naturally, through context and familiarity. Instead of decoding short, isolated passages, readers build true fluency and enjoy Latin as a living language, not a grammatical puzzle. This sustained immersion also allows self-learners to achieve lasting reading fluency by repetition and context.
• Historically grounded realism. Food, furniture, gestures, law, travel, ritual, and theatre drawn directly from Roman life — never modernized or “fantasy Rome.”
• Wit and warmth throughout. From Plautine mischief to everyday irony, humor arises from Roman life itself — making Latin reading not a duty, but a pleasure.
• Classroom-safe. The entire series omits sexual vocabulary (e.g. meretrix, leno) and is suitable for schools.

The built-in plays

Across the prose narrative, Latina Laeta includes original Latin stage pieces — Plautine comedies, Terentian dialogues, and later short mysteries — all fully original, classroom-appropriate, and aligned with each level’s grammar. Each may be read, performed, or adapted for dialogue, linking Active Latin practice with literary Latin.
Each may also be performed under a standard non-profit academic licence.

Totals by volume:
• A1.2, A1.4, A2.2, A2.4 – one Plautine piece each
• A2.5 – one Plautine play
• B1.1 – two Plautine plays
• B1.2 – one Terentian and one Plautine play
• B1.3 – two Plautine plays
• B1.5 – two Plautine plays
• B2.2 – one Plautine play
• B2.4 – one mystery play and one Plautine play
• B2.5 – one Terentian play

A Gentle, Continuous Progression — No Cliffs

You grow into Latin as the characters grow up.
You begin beside them as children and end reading as equals — hearing, feeling, and thinking in Latin while seeing their world through their eyes.

The language unfolds at the pace of their lives: words first spoken in childhood return, enriched, in adulthood. Difficulty rises in micro-steps, never leaps — eliminating the notorious “cliff” between elementary readers and authentic Classical prose.

A1 (Books 1–5): Life within the household — short, clear sentences, high-frequency vocabulary, the warmth of daily scenes. Present and imperfect tenses carry simple narration as readers learn Latin from within the family’s world.
A2 (Books 6–10): The world widens. Study, travel, and new emotions — hope, fear, curiosity — appear naturally. Future and perfect tenses, comparatives, participles, and ablatives of means grow from vivid context.
B1 (Books 11–15): The characters mature; speech deepens. Subordinate clauses (ut/ne, cum-constructions, indirect questions, participles) express more complex thought. Paragraphs lengthen, dialogue quickens, Latin feels alive.
B2 (Books 16–20): The full voice of Silver-Age Latin emerges — indirect discourse, elegant subordination, ablative absolutes in rhythmical prose. Scenes expand — civic, domestic, and theatrical — yet remain as clear and comprehensible as ever.

Earlier forms recur by design, so new grammar grows from what you already know. Vocabulary expands through meaningful reuse, not lists, allowing comprehension and confidence to rise together. Each book flows naturally into the next, so growth feels effortless.

By the final volume, Ad Maiora, you read at near-native fluency — ready to step seamlessly into the Gens et Gloria novels, where the same characters continue their lives under Trajan in full Classical Latin prose.

The bridge to Gens et Gloria

The last volume, B2.5 – Ad Maiora, is not an end but a bridge. Its language attains full Classical Latin style while preserving the familiar voices and world of Latina Laeta. From here readers step seamlessly into Gens et Gloria — modern Latin novels where the language they have acquired becomes living literature.

Latina Laeta builds the linguistic muscle.
Gens et Gloria puts that Latin to work — in full narrative art, with longer arcs, deeper emotion shown through Roman gesture and speech, and the civic, legal, and domestic life of Trajan’s Empire.

Gens et Gloria has already received enthusiastic praise from one of the foremost authorities in spoken and written Latin:

Professor Terence Tunberg, University of Kentucky, writes of Book I – Principatus Novus:

“I strongly urge all students of Latin literature and Roman civilization to read this splendidly written novel. Anyone who begins reading this vivid and realistic story will feel not only that he is moving among the ancient Romans, but that he is actually living in their age, when the Roman Empire was at the height of its power.”

Of Book II – In Mauretania Tingitana he continues:

“Take this volume in hand, O readers! Open it! For here begins the second part of this brilliantly composed novel, Gens et Gloria. As you read, you will seem to make a journey — not merely speaking Latin, but conversing with the Romans themselves. You will travel to Mauretania Tingitana, where you will meet lions and legions, huts and cities, and learn that the Roman Empire exists wherever the Latin language holds sway.”

And of Book III – A Zygia ad Apollonium:

“The reader, as if by a kind of enchantment, gradually forgets our own age and is drawn back into that time when, under Trajan’s rule, many peoples were brought under Roman power. He travels from Baetica to the frontiers of Dacia, sees much, speaks with many in Latin — and, astonished by new scenes, always longs to see more.”

(Professor Terence Tunberg, University of Kentucky — reviews of Gens et Gloria I–III)

Style and Tone

• Dialogue modeled on Terence for natural conversation; narrative clarity like Suetonius and Pliny; social realism in the spirit of Petronius (minus obscenity).
• Humor arises from character and situation, never from faulty Latin — proof that Classical prose can delight as well as teach.
• Emotion is revealed through gesture, silence, setting, and speech — not modern introspection.
• The result is Latin that reads with the life, rhythm, and wit of a novel, not the stiffness of a schoolbook.

Structure at a Glance

| CEFR | Volumes | Focus |
|:–––|:–––|:–––|
| A1 | A1.1–A1.5 | Family, household, market, simple travels |
| A2 | A2.1–A2.5 | Study, law, work, broader journeys, early theatre |
| B1 | B1.1–B1.5 | Stage life, poverty and dignity in Subura, choices and consequences |
| B2 | B2.1–B2.5 | Vesuvius, wandering and change, Roman justice abroad, return and renewal — then onward to Gens et Gloria |

For Teachers and Programs

• Clean, Classical Latin at every stage
• Incremental grammar design with constant recycling
• Original short plays for performance or read-alouds
• Ideal for both intensive and extensive-reading courses
• Fully suitable for secondary and university classrooms

Start reading

📗 Explore all four volumes of Latina Laeta
A1 • A2 • B1 • B2 — each available in print through Lulu:
View and order on Lulu →Latina Laeta A1    Latina Laeta A2    Latina Laeta B1    Latina Laeta B2

Latina Laeta — read widely, grow steadily, and enjoy Latin as the Romans did: with wit, warmth, and wonder.
Cross the bridge to Gens et Gloria — modern Latin novels where Rome under Trajan comes fully alive.

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