Francis Ritchie

Francis Ritchie is remembered chiefly as an author of educational books for Latin and Greek learners. Surviving catalog and library records link his name to a long list of school texts and practice books, including Fabulae Faciles, First Steps in Latin, First Steps in Greek, Exercises in Latin Prose Composition, and other introductory readers and grammar aids.

His work suggests a strong focus on classical language teaching: short steps, repeated practice, and stories drawn from mythology. Fabulae Faciles, one of the titles most closely associated with him, became especially well known as an entry point for beginners because it combines simple Latin with familiar legends such as Perseus, Hercules, the Argonauts, and Ulysses.

Detailed biographical information about his life is hard to confirm from the sources I found, so it is safest to remember him through the books themselves. What stands out is their lasting usefulness: long after their first publication in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, Ritchie’s readers and exercise books continue to circulate through libraries, reprints, and public-domain editions.