South Bay Classic Book Group

The Secret Garden is Frances Hodgson Burnett's 1911 children's novel abut 10 year old Mary Lennox, spoiled and wealthy but also neglected buy her parents in British India. She arrives in the English moors to live with her uncle after cholera leaves her an orphan. There she discovers a locked secret garden. She also finds a sickly cousin cared for by servants in the back of the house. By the end of the novel the garden has served to heal and uplift the spirits of the members of the household.

To foster more participation and keep the discussion lively, a list of question will be sent out the week before the event. Feel free to choose some questions to read and respond to.

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Virgil’s The Aeneid is one of the greatest literary achievements of antiquity, recounting the epic journey of Aeneas, a Trojan hero destined to lay the foundations of Rome.

Fleeing the ashes of Troy, Aeneas begins an incredible journey through stormy seas, a tragic love affair, and the world of the dead. Ultimately, he reaches the promised land of Italy where, after bloody battles, he founds what will become the Roman empire.

An unsparing portrait of a man caught between love, duty, and fate, the Aeneid redefines passion, nobility, and courage for our times.

Which translation to read? Consider:
1. For readability, Robert Fagles (Penguin Classics, 2006) is contemporary and vivid without feeling casual. The narrative moves with real momentum, which helps the epic feel like a story rather than an academic exercise.
2. A close second for readability, Shadi Bartsch (Random House, 2021) is modern, elegant, and lucid, with sharp insight into the poem’s political and moral tensions.
3. If you prefer a more poetic, classical feel, consider Robert Fitzgerald (Vintage, 1983). A long‑standing standard in American classrooms, it has a slightly more elevated, traditional tone. Some readers love this; others find it a bit formal.
4. Also consider Sarah Ruden (Yale, 2008) which is highly faithful to the Latin and has an excellent scholarly introduction and notes. Ruden aims to reproduce Virgil’s tone and rhetorical effects rather than smoothing them into modern idioms.