S. E. Hoffer, The Anxieties of Pliny The Younger. (American Philological Association American Classical Studies 43). Pp. v + 250. Atlanta, Georgia: Scholars Press, 1999. ISBN 0-7885-0565-3. US$ 29.95.

Abstract

This book provides a new understanding of Pliny's letters by combining historical analysis of the social pressures that shape Pliny's authorial pose with close literary analysis of the letters themselves. It demonstrates how ruling-class ideology is disseminated and how it shapes the literary persona and personal identity of a ruling-class member. The powerful heuristic tool of examining the interplay between confidence and anxieties in the letters will help restore Pliny's relatively neglected masterpiece to a more prominent place in undergraduate Latin and Roman Civilization courses.