Alfred J. Church

(1829 – 1912)

Rev. Alfred J. Church (1829-1912) grew up in Victorian England, was ordained in 1853, and taught at several private schools in Britain before gaining a post as a professor of Latin at University College of London. He was a respected scholar and some of his earliest works were translations of Latin authors.

In the late 1870s he published his first works for a general reading audience: Stories from Homer, Stories from Virgil, and Stories from Livy. These were simplified versions of classical works, and were so well received that he embarked on a thirty year career of writing. During this period he produced over fifty books, all historical in nature, but written in a variety of genres.

Church's books vary widely in approach, and his intended audience ranges from elementary to university level. His books include historical fiction, biographies, historical vignettes, general history, mythology, epics, and simplified classics, as well as scholarly Latin translations.

For anyone interested in a classical education, Church's books are an invaluable resource. He is especially gifted at exciting a real interest in history in the intermediate student; that is someone who has already read an introductory history of Greece, Rome, or England, but would like more interesting and indepth knowledge of these areas. Church's works are full of many of the fascinating details of history that introductory courses must leave out, and inspire an abiding interest in the ancients. A few of his most famous works are written for older elementary students, but most are directed toward college bound junior high school and high school students; but history buffs of any age will be delighted with his works.

His books can be categorized in the following manner.

Simplified Classics: In these books Church takes a classic work and simplifies it, while retaining as much of the character of the original as possible. These are faithful renditions, rather than translations. They are not difficult reading, but are intermediate, rather than introductory material. Some of his simplified classics include:

Children’s Classics: Church's Classic’s for Juniors, are some of his best-known works, and have been widely read in the English speaking world for most of the 20th century. In these books, he does not preserve the authors original style, but rather, retells the tale in a manner accessible to young readers.

Historical Fiction: Church's approach to Historical fiction is to introduce as much history as possible into an action packed narrative. The plotlines may be somewhat contrived, but they are never dull; His heroes are buffeted from one historically significant event to another, with just a few asides for love interest, and dramatic escapes and rescues. Church's ability to weave tremendous amounts of historical detail into his stories without becoming tedious is astounding, but most are recommended for older students with some background in history rather than for introductory level students.

Historical Vignettes: These books are collections of interesting stories and anecdotes rather than comprehensive histories. They are all of intermediate level interest. Many of these anecdotes are quite entertaining. They are an excellent second step for becoming familiar with Classical History.