Incitatus: Fabula Equi Senatorii

by Emma Vanderpool

A horse is a horse, of course, of course . . . well, unless that horse happens to be Incitatus, who not only is the famous “victor” of the Circus Maximus but also the favorite of the Emperor Caligula . . . . Because of his newfound fame, he quickly becomes the least favorite of the other senators, including Gnaeus. Gnaeus is a poor senator of no importance, especially compared to Incitatus, who is now a newly minted senator. Read on about the hilarity and insanity ensues when Caligula stirs up competition between his beloved horse and his less-than-beloved senators!

64 pages, Paperback

Published April 20, 2020

Reviews

[Peter · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'll admit, any book with a strong dose of poop joke will pull me in, even if it's written in first-year Latin. (I'm reading my way through my student library while students read in class. I've got to know what's in the books if I'm going to make any sort of suggestions.) Latin teachers with novella libraries, pick up a couple of copies of this. It's fantastic for students who have just started reading novellas. It's relevant to Roman history and teenage humor.

[Ryan Mincey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book mainly focuses on the relationships and growing tension between Incitatus, Caligula's fastest horse and newly appointed Roman senator, and other members of the Senate. Senator Gnaeus is one of the main Senators who is outspoken about their dislike for Incitatus. Throughout the book he criticizes the opulence that surrounds Incitatus and mentions how silly it is to treat a horse that well.

As for the language throughout the book. It was very easy to understand, every two or three pages there would be a new vocab word I hadn't learned yet but overall everything was simple. This helped me get a feel for the book at the start but as the book went on I got very sick of the constant repetition of phrases and sometimes, whole sets of dialogue. There were moments when I thought I had read a chapter already because of how similar a lot of the sentences and vocabulary was.

[Matthew Goldberg · Rating 4 out of 5]

The story follows three main characters. The first is Incitatus, who is a horse and a senator. Then there is Caligula, who was the Emperor during the story and the person who appointed Incitatus as a senator. Finally, there is Gnaeus, who is a senator who is envious of Incitatus. The story takes place in Ancient Rome during the Empire. The story centers around Incitatus, the horse senator. I enjoyed fully learning about the story of Incitatus, because I had only heard a little about the horse who was a senator. From this book I was able to learn much about Roman Senators. The story was pretty stationary, and it had its funny moments. Overall, I would say that I enjoyed this book.

The book was pretty easy to read. Many of the words repeated throughout the chapter, and any new words would be presented at the bottom of the page. ALso there was a dictionary located in the back of the book. The book was written from the first person, alternating from character to character. To signify a change, there would be a picture of the character at the start of the chapter. ALso the font would change when the point of view changed.

[Addie · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a Latin reader by the author Emma Vanderpool. I've never read her Latin before, so I thought I'd give it a try with this book. Compared to Andrew Olimpi, her reading is a bit harder to get the feel for. Sometimes the writing is not as smooth, is slightly repetitive, and can feel a bit like stumbling as you read. I'm not sure if that's because her writing is more like an original Latin writing form, or if it's her own writing style, but it got easier to read towards the end of the book. I will give her other Latin readers a go and compare those to this one as well, with the hope that I will enjoy reading them also.

[Jack Scali · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought it was a pretty funny book. It is not something you would think would happen back in the Roman Empire. The book was pretty easy to read, grammar is more important than vocab because vocab is either repeated or on the bottom of the page to help. Overall this book is interesting and full of comedy, not literally but funny in a way that the storyline is random.

[Kelly Macfarlane · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute story with lots of repetition of high-frequency verbs, and you get the word for "poop." What's not to love?

[Jeffrey · Rating 4 out of 5]

Some insight into the final days of Caligula, written in first year Latin.

[Abbi · Rating 4 out of 5]

It was okay for a Latin book. Only thing I wish they hadn't had was the abrupt last chapter. I can't say what it is without spoiling it, but it was weird in my opinion.