The Children's Plutarch, Tales of the Romans

The Children's Plutarch: Tales of the Romans, also adapted by Frederick James Gould with illustrations by Walter Crane, is the companion volume to Tales of the Greeks. It retells twenty-one stories from Plutarch’s Lives in straightforward, engaging language suitable for children around ages 8–14, emphasizing character, virtue, duty, and moral lessons from Roman history. Like its counterpart, it includes an introduction by W. D. Howells, a preface, and a topical index, serving as an ideal gateway to the original biographies while highlighting republican ideals, patriotism, endurance, and civic responsibility.

The narratives begin with the legendary founding by Romulus and Remus and early lawgiver Numa, then cover heroes of the Republic such as Camillus (“the Second Founder”), Fabius (the delayer against Hannibal), Coriolanus and his mother Volumnia, the stern Cato, generals like Marius, Sulla, Lucullus, Pompey, and Sertorius, before culminating in the dramatic lives of Julius Caesar, Cicero (“Tully”), Cato the Younger, Mark Antony, and Brutus. Gould presents these figures with a focus on their strengths and flaws, noting complexities like ambition, civil strife, and the institution of slavery, while inspiring readers with examples of courage, self-sacrifice, and love of country. Together with the Greeks volume, it offers a balanced, character-driven introduction to classical antiquity that remains valued in classical Christian homeschooling for cultivating wisdom and virtue through living stories.