Legonium: Season One
Available as a print book from Lulu, or for free from the author's website in the form of captioned images.
Reading level
The intended level is not given in the author’s published material. It was reviewed in Classicum (Vol. 45, no. 2); the review can be read here.
Diverse & Multicultural Identities
For information about how representation of multicultural and diverse identities is analyzed in LNDb, see here.Parallel cultures
No depictions identified.Gender
Features one cis male main character (Marcellus) and two cis female main characters (Jessica and Miranda). Features no transgender main characters.Sexual identity
This novella is one of the few to feature a depiction of an LGBTQ identity: the police officer, a woman named Miranda, has a girlfriend named Claudia. Though their relationship is secondary to the main plot, there are so few novellas with an LGBTQ character that this instance bears mentioning.SES/class
Marcellus might be considered to be of a lower class: he does not have the money to pay his debts, and his apartment is repeatedly described as small.Religion
No depictions identified. (The characters visit Roman temples, but no religious practices are depicted.)Disability
No depictions identified.Language Statistics
Vocabulary
Word List
A complete word list for Legonium: Season One can be found here.
Glosses
This novella contains glosses in the form of pictures. Of the 839 unique words (not counting proper nouns) used in the text, 11 of them (1.3%) are glossed at their first appearance in the text. Of the 6713 total words in the text, 11 of them (0.2%) are glossed.
It also features many illustrations. While they are not glosses of particular words, they depict the events of the story in a way that supports comprehension on a level broader than individual words. In addition, some words, particularly words for modern technologies, are defined within the narrative in Latin (e.g. “Hōrologium est īnstrūmentum quod nūntiat quota sit hōra.”).
It also features many illustrations. While they are not glosses of particular words, they depict the events of the story in a way that supports comprehension on a level broader than individual words. In addition, some words, particularly words for modern technologies, are defined within the narrative in Latin (e.g. “Hōrologium est īnstrūmentum quod nūntiat quota sit hōra.”).
Glossary
This novella does not contain a glossary. Instead, it contains a full translation of the text into English.
Syntax
The ratio of complex sentences indicates what proportion of the total sentences are complex sentences, on average. A complex sentence is defined as a sentence with one or more subordinate clauses or verb phrases.
Summary
Genre & Sources
This novella is in the genre of modern.
It is not an adaptation of any particular piece of Classical literature.
CONTAINS SPOILERS
Marcellus is an artist who lives in a city in modern times and owes a lot of money to the bank. Marcellus happens to find a briefcase, which is full of money. In a flashback, it is revealed that the briefcase had been given to two people the previous day in exchange for a jewel. That night, the two people were robbed, and the briefcase was stolen. The burglar was chased by a police officer but got away and hid the briefcase in a dumpster, where it was then found by Marcellus. Meanwhile, the people from whom the briefcase was stolen find out that Marcellus is in possession of the briefcase. The burglar, who saw Marcellus find the briefcase, decides to leave a note asking Marcellus to meet her. When they meet, she explains to him that he is in danger because the two people from whom the briefcase was stolen are wicked people who are after the briefcase he found. At that moment, the police officer, who has tracked the burglar to this spot, arrives and asks them to explain everything. The burglar explains that the briefcase, in addition to the money, also contains a map indicating the location of a book. This book is of great historical value and must not fall into the wrong hands. Thus Marcellus, the burglar, and the police officer rush back to Marcellus’s apartment, and they find the map before the two bad guys do. Marcellus draws a copy of the map and puts the original back in the briefcase. Shortly afterward, the two bad guys steal the original map. The map leads everybody to Pompeii. The bad guys get there first and obtain the book from underneath the temple of Jupiter, but they are spotted by Marcellus and company. After a chase, they retrieve the book. They go back to their home city, and discover that the book is the lost memoirs of Agrippina.
First 100 Words
Underlined words are glossed in the text. See also the sample found here.salvē, lēctor. spērō tē bene valēre. ego sum narrātrix. mihi nōmen est Sophia. multās fābulās dē multīs hominibus sciō. placetne tibi fābulās audīre? ego possum fābulās tibi nārrāre.
prīma fābula mea incipit ab hōc virō. hic vir est Marcellus. sī vīs, aliquid dē Marcellō tibi nunc nārrābō.
prīmum, fortasse quaeris cūr Marcellus pēniculum et discum pigmentārium teneat.
Marcellus tālia īnstrūmenta tenet quod pictor est. Marcellus, meā sententiā, est pictor optimus.
scīsne quid sit pictor? ego tē certiōrem faciam. pictor est vir vel fēmina quī pictūrās pingit.
haec pictūra ā Marcellō picta est. pingere Marcellō maximē placet. placetne tibi haec pictūra? placuit Marcellō eam pingere!
hodiē Marcellus in viā prope argentārium ambulat. ambulāre in viā Marcellō perplacet. …
Supplementary Materials
The author’s website contains many excellent materials, including some which are directly related to the story. Audio recordings of the first five chapters can be found here.Presentation
| Illustrations? | yes |
| Illustrator | Anthony Gibbins |
| Macrons? | yes |
| Font | Athelas, 16 pt |
| Pages of story | 114 |
| Total pages | 140 |
| Chapters | 12 |
Key Information
| Publication date | July 31, 2019 |
| Publisher | Legonium Latin Press |
| ISBN | 1733381201 |
| ISBN-13 | 978-1733381208 |
