The Bibliotheca Classica (Reading, November, 1788), or Classical Dictionary containing a full Account of all the Proper Names mentioned in Ancient Authors is the best-known work of John Lemprière, an English classical scholar. Edited by various later scholars, the dictionary long remained a readable if not absolutely trustworthy reference book in mythology and classical history. Lemprière wished "to give the most accurate and satisfactory account of all the proper names which occur in reading the Classics, and by a judicious collection of anecdotes and historical facts to draw a picture of ancient times, not less instructive than entertaining."[1]
The dictionary has been a handbook for teachers, journalists, dramatists and poets for almost 200 years and John Keats is said to have known the book almost by heart.[2] "Far from being just an ordinary dictionary, however, Lemprière's encyclopedic work is full of incidental details and stories which bring the mythical past to life." It is also assumed that the great scholar Richard Valpy helped Lemprière with the dictionary.[2]
Many ships of the Royal Navy were named from Greek and Roman mythology during the Napoleonic Wars. Lord Sandwich, the First Lord of the Admiralty, had a copy of this book on his desk and simply plucked a name from within.[3] For example, HMS Bellerophon, HMS Charon, HMS Orion, HMS Leander, HMS Minotaur, HMS Pegasus, HMS Phaeton, HMS Theseus, HMS Venus.
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Lemprière, and specifically the writing of his dictionary, formed the basis for the novel Lemprière's Dictionary by Lawrence Norfolk.
In The Gaudy by J.I.M. Stewart there is a character called Lemprière. The narrator is familiar with the name because of Keats' knowledge of the dictionary.