Ignatius Critical Editions {Review & Giveaway}

by | Jul 19, 2021 | Books, Giveaway, Home Education, Reviews | 102 comments

We have been utilizing the Ignatius Critical Editions in our home school curriculum for years now. They are always my top pick when searching for classic literature selections for our high-schoolers to read. Each edition contains a captivating introduction, the full text of the work, and then ends with an excellent selection of critical essays. 

This year our 9th grader will be reading Merchant of Venice, Hamlet, and King Lear, while simultaneously completing the corresponding recorded classes offered by Joseph Pearce, who is one of their favorite literature instructors over at Homeschool Connections.  As the editor of the Ignatius Critical Editions series, he does such an amazing job of making the literature come to life for the students, deepening their appreciation for these great classics. 

From the about page: “The Ignatius Critical Editions will ensure that traditional moral readings of the works are given prominence, instead of the feminist or deconstructionist readings that often proliferate in other series of ‘critical editions’. As such, they represent a genuine extension of consumer choice, enabling educators, students, and lovers of good literature to buy editions of classic literary works without having to ‘buy into’ the ideologies of secular fundamentalism.” 

P.S.  Jane Eyre might not be a favorite assignment for 10th grade boys. 😉 

There are so many wonderful books to choose from in the series!  I asked our first four to share their favorites… Our eldest son loved reading Adventures of Huckleberry Finn and Hamlet in high school.  Our next son really enjoyed The Picture of Dorian Gray, The Confessions, Frankenstein and Hamlet.  Our eldest daughter loves all things Austen and she loved Jane Eyre! Our next daughter really enjoyed Julius Caesar and Mansfield Park

.: Giveaway :. 

This week I get to give away a “starter set” of this great series.

The winner will receive 5 BOOKS of their choice directly from Ignatius Press!  
Enter the giveaway using the Rafflecopter box below: 


I also have a coupon code to share with all of you! 
Save 25% on all books in the series with coupon code: ROSES25
(Coupon code expires July 28, 2021) 

102 Comments

  1. Anonymous

    Looks neat!

    Reply
  2. Kinga

    Hello! What a wonderful opportunity. My daughter likes Jane Austen's books and this is great choice for her as the high school English literature choice. Thank you 🙂

    Reply
  3. Sarah

    I've never seen these books before, thank you! My 9th grader will be doing the recorded HSC Pearce Iliad and Odyssey classes this fall. We're excited!

    Reply
  4. Maria A

    Ignatius Press editions are great! I have a couple of the Shakespeare ones.

    Reply
  5. Amy

    They look great! I love the Classics!!!

    Reply
  6. Andrea

    This looks like a great way to add classic titles! I have been really building our home library this year. My kids go to public school and it is getting scary how watered down high school English classes are- focus on “articles” not actual literature, no grammar…The honors English teacher retired so I will have to supplement a lot with my last child! Thanks for the great suggestions!

    Reply
  7. Laura

    This is so exciting! It’s a wonderful set of books:-)

    Reply
  8. Mindy1024

    Those looks gorgeous! I wrote my 12th grade AP paper on Jane Eyre lol

    Reply
  9. samcarter

    What a wonderful series! I have never seen these before. My two highschoolers would love these!

    Reply
  10. Anonymous

    My children also attend public schools. They definitely don't teach the classics as they should. This would be a perfect supplement for my children to do at home. Thank you for the giveaway. – Laura G.

    Reply
  11. Emily

    Just discovered these at a thrft store

    Reply
  12. Laura The Crazy Mama

    Wow. I haven’t left a blog comment on nigh on 8 years. I’ve never used that phrase ever. I’m not sure how I suddenly turned into a 19th century ol’ prospector/frontiersman, but here we are. Cool giveaway!

    Reply
  13. Imcatholic

    These are great! As well as Joseph Pearce!

    Reply
  14. Unknown

    Thank you for this giveaway of such great books!

    Reply
  15. Mrs. D

    These are so good to know about! I assumed they'd be expensive, but they're really not even before the coupon, so I definitely plan on going that way when the time comes for my kids.

    Reply
  16. Unknown

    Nice! I just found out about these editions. Can't wait to check them out. 🙂

    Reply
  17. Cmerie

    I just saw these while looking for a book for my high schooler. I'm so glad to hear that you like them!

    Reply
  18. Mary

    Looks like great editions of these classics! Would love to be chosen to win this giveaway.

    Reply
  19. Jana

    I love this. I’ve never heard of them but I’ll definitely start a collection now. Thank you

    Reply
  20. Teresa

    So many amazing books!

    Reply
  21. Kelsy

    These look like great editions and love that Joseph Pearce is an editor! Thank you for offering this!

    Reply
  22. Lauren

    I’ve never seen these before!

    Reply
  23. Leslie

    We're getting close to high school, and these look like something I will want!

    Reply
  24. Rachel

    These books look amazing! I'll definitely look into adding them to our studies!

    Reply
  25. Jessica

    I have a few of these editions and they are wonderful. The introductions and critical essays add so much!

    Reply
  26. Minny Mama

    These look excellent! I'm so impressed your kids have read these and can choose a favorite; I've never read any of them myself. BUT, I do look forward to reading them someday and exposing my kids to them, as well!

    Reply
  27. Miss Margaret

    Love Joseph Pearce's work! These would be a super refreshing read after a year of A-Level literature (aka A-Level feminist and post-colonial critical theory) 😀

    Reply
  28. Unknown

    Thanks for offering a wonderful giveaway! My kids have enjoyed Joseph Pearce classes on HC. Can’t wait to check out these books. God bless you!

    Reply
  29. Debbie

    I would love to read those myself… and have on hand for grandchildren!

    Reply
  30. Haley

    Oh my goodness!!! Jane Eyre is one of my favorites! I love all thing classical literature and would LOVE to have these books in my personal library!

    Reply
  31. Jessica B.

    As a lover of literature and a soon to be first time mom, this makes me excited for the future!!!

    Reply
  32. Carolyn Astfalk

    I enjoyed the critical edition of Dracula. I'm sure the others are great too.

    Reply
  33. Ellen

    So excited to learn about these! Definitely going to be making them part of our homeschool.

    Reply
  34. Sarah

    Thank you! We read a lot of classics in our homeschool but I have never heard of these editions.

    Reply
  35. Judee A

    Thanks so much for the giveaway! These look great!

    Reply
  36. Leah

    I’m planning to use these with my eldest this year!

    Reply
  37. amy kellam

    I love classical literature! These will be perfect for my homeschoolers in a few years. Thanks for the recommendation.

    Reply
  38. amy kellam

    I love classical literature. These will be perfect for my homeschoolers in a few years. Thanks for the recommendation.

    Reply
  39. Piper

    Oh my, what hilarious comments in Jane Eyre!! It's a favorite of mine, actually, but I totally understand where the 10th grade boy might be coming from…!
    Thank you for this generous giveaway. Would so love these for my high schoolers.

    Reply
  40. Jessica Gordon

    Whenever I need a good laugh all I need to do is read through some of the annotations in the margins of our two copies of Jane Eyre! They had studied the book with the help of a tutor and I never discovered their notes until I was unpacking the books following our move from Oregon during their first year of college.

    Reply
  41. Kimberly Payne

    I recently discovered these books at the Virtual Homeschool Conference. I have been wanting to review some of these book….maybe this will be my opportunity. Thanks for the thoughtful giveway.

    Reply
  42. Laney

    My girls love classical literature. There are many books listed they have never read before. What a great giveaway. Thank you for the opportunity.

    Reply
  43. Anna Wolske

    I love the Critical Editions so much!!! Thanks for hosting this amazing giveaway!

    Reply
  44. deborah c

    These are great! I hadn’t seen this collection before.

    Reply
  45. Natalie

    I can't wait for my daughter to read Austen
    Natalie

    Reply
  46. Anonymous

    I love that you said "Jane Eyre" might be your favorite assignment for boys! I would love to add all the Shakespeare Critical Editions to our bookshelves as we will starting Shakespeare in our homeschool this year 🙂

    Reply
  47. AC

    Incorporating classic literature has always been something we try to do. There is so much to unpack in each book. Thank you for sharing!

    Reply
  48. Sarah O

    We love these editions- such great, insightful commentary. Can’t wait to see even more in this series!

    Reply
  49. Sarah Ortiz

    We love the Critical Editions, especially the great, insightful commentary. Can’t wait to see more books included in the future!

    Reply
  50. SZM

    These look great!

    Reply
  51. Kristy

    I haven't seen these before, but I love the classics, so this is great!

    Reply
  52. Chelsea

    These look wonderful! I would love to read the Jane Austen editions.

    Reply
  53. Anonymous

    I would love to win this generous giveaway.
    MarionMPC(at)aol(dot)com

    Reply
  54. Pam

    Ha! My 12th grade son had a similar opinion of Jane Eyre when he read it this year. 😉 We've used Critical Editions for two books so far and I'm hoping to expand our collection. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

    Reply
  55. Lemmon

    These look great!

    Reply
  56. Lily

    We would like to add the Ignatius Press Critical Editions to our shelves for our homeschool library. Thank you for your lovely blog and great giveaway!

    Pax Christi!

    Reply
  57. Alicia @ Sweeping Up Joy

    I haven't seen these before! We're always looking to add classics to our collection.

    Reply
  58. Jess

    We are venturing into homeschooling a high schooler for the first time this year. I had no idea these existed but will certainly plan to add some to our collection.

    Reply
  59. Melodee

    These look great, Jessica. Thank you for letting us know about them.

    Reply
  60. Karen H

    What a great giveaway! Our four grandkids here with us would be blessed to study these classics!

    Reply
  61. eileen

    LOL!!! That made my week:)

    Reply
  62. joy

    Classics worth having. Great reading.

    Reply
  63. Amy In Oregon

    Classic literature is a big part of our homeschool!!

    Reply
  64. AJ and Adam

    These books look great. Thanks for sharing them.

    Reply
  65. CatholicMommy

    Thanks for the coupon code! They are precious commodities.

    Reply
  66. Megan

    These are absolutely fantastic! Thank you for hosting this giveaway.

    Reply
  67. Keith Berube

    The Ignatius Critical Series are the best!!

    Reply
  68. brizeka

    Thank you for this wonderful give away! We live classic books in our home. Hope you are enjoying your summer! God bless you.

    Reply
  69. brizeka

    Thank you for this wonderful give away. We live the classic books in our home! Hope you are enjoying your summer. God bless you.

    Reply
  70. Jordan M. Poss

    Wonderful critical editions. Thanks for setting up this giveaway!

    Reply
  71. Kaity

    I feel like I’m just discovering the classics as an adult, my literary education was not great. I can’t wait to introduce some of these to my kids as they grow up!

    Reply
  72. giselle

    Thanks for beautiful giveaway!!

    Reply
  73. Anonymous

    What a great giveaway! Thanks for the chance to win!

    Reply
  74. Diane

    What a wonderful collection of books!

    Reply
  75. Sarah

    Thanks for offering this giveaway. Would love to win 5 titles from the Ignatius Critical series!

    Reply
  76. Katie Smith

    I’ve put some of these editions in my cart so many times but never made the purchase. I’m happy to hear they are as good as I expected! And I’m happy to discover your blog, too!

    Reply
  77. Anonymous

    This looks great! Would love to win!

    Reply
  78. Kristina

    Thank you for yet another great giveaway! God bless!

    Reply
  79. JRichards

    Your son’s comment about Jane Eyre is priceless! Thank you for this generous giveaway!

    Reply
  80. JRichards

    This is an amazing giveaway! Thank you. Your son’s comment about Jane Eyre is priceless!

    Reply
  81. Cindy

    So, so good! Come to my bookshelf!!

    Reply
  82. Amy

    I love learning how others use classics in their high school curriculum.

    Reply
  83. Amanda B

    I’ve just learned about these! They look fantastic!

    Reply
  84. A Keilen

    Thank you for your review. It is always helpful to see what others have had success with. May God bless you and your beautiful family!

    Reply
  85. Danielle S.

    Lovely editions of these classics. Thanks for doing this giveaway!

    Reply
  86. Mindy

    Gorgeous covers!

    Reply
  87. Mindy

    Gorgeous books!

    Reply
  88. Sarah

    Exciting!!

    Reply
  89. Tessa

    We would be delighted to have some of these books. I have been wanting to start collecting them for our highschoolers.

    Reply
  90. Kathleen

    We would love to have some of these books.

    Reply
  91. Anna

    I really enjoy using these critical editions they have been helpful and a wonderful educational tool for my homeschool.

    Reply
  92. JenniferM

    Would love to have some of these for our homeschool. Thanks for hosting the giveaway.

    Reply
  93. AnnieMarie

    Thank you for offering this giveaway. These books would be a wonderful addition to our homeschool curriculum. 🙂

    Reply
  94. teriannm

    These look wonderful!

    Reply
  95. ADTWF

    I was delighted to reread Frankenstein in 2018, in honor of the bicentennial, using the Ignatius edition edited by Joseph Pearce. My oldest son is on the cusp of middle school and his younger brother will soon follow. I would love to add five more Ignatius editions to mine so that they will have access to the best available editions. Thank you for offering this amazing opportunity!

    Reply
  96. Jocelyn K

    Thank-you for this amazing opportunity!!!! ❤️

    Reply

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