The Comic Latin Grammar: A New and Facetious Introduction to the Latin Tongue

by A New and Facetious Introduction to the Latin Tongue

The Comic Latin Grammar: A New and Facetious Introduction to the Latin Tongue, written by Percival Leigh and illustrated by John Leech, is a delightful and humorous take on a grammar textbook.
The Comic Latin Grammar is modeled after a popular grammar textbook of the 1700s. Author Percival Leigh explores the English language with his tongue firmly planted in his cheek. "That boys should be instructed in the Latin language will be denied by few (although by some eccentric persons this has been done)" states the author, "That they can be expected to learn what they cannot laugh at will, to all reflecting minds, especially on perusing the foregoing considerations, appear in the highest degree unreasonable." Percival Leigh understands that language can be fun, and this book is written to demonstrate this viewpoint. The book proceeds as one would expect a grammar textbook to, with examinations of the parts of speech, verb conjugations and tenses, and analysis of word etymology.
The Comic Latin Grammar is truly a pleasure to read. Copiously illustrated, it is both informative and entertaining. Leigh is a masterful writer, and the text is littered with clever wordplay and subtle gags. At less than two hundred pages it is a short book, but one that reader's will likely return to frequently.
Percival Leigh has created a love letter to the English language in The Comic Latin Grammar: A New and Facetious Introduction to the Latin Tongue. This is a charming and at times hilarious read that will appeal to all those who truly love the power and peculiarities of words.

201 pages, Paperback

First published May 4, 1840

Reviews

[Eric · Rating 2 out of 5]

The introductory material makes a big deal of how mirthful the Victorian Age would be remembered as. Alas, this book shan't be remembered so fondly. Published in 1840, it's not the author's fault, per se, that the book is such a dreadful bore that I could barely finish a quarter of it. It's very much a product of its time and place, with humor that is very local and colloquial in nature.

I almost forgot the worst part - at least from the Latin student's perspective. There are numerous clever poems designed to aid memorization, but they rely on rhymes inconsistent with both the restored classical and Ecclesiastical pronunciations. Rather, they employ the English pronunciation, which is an appallingly awful historical anomaly.

TL;DR: If you don't care about proper Latin pronunciation and obscure 19th century references and casual racism are your thing, have fun. I couldn't finish it.

[Harry Collier IV]

A delight.

[Wax · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in MDCCX, the author makes several references to The Pickwick Papers, written by Charles Dickens in 1837.

The witty remarks show a cleverness and facility with the the English language I am unaccustomed to seeing these days.

[Aaron Cummings · Rating 1 out of 5]

Cross Eton Grammar withe devil's Dictionary. You get this. Humorous at moments but the joke gets old quickly.

[Chantal · Rating 2 out of 5]

Either I've lost my sense of humour or it's a ridiculously boring book.