David Roy Shackleton Bailey (1917 2005) was a renowned British classicist and academic who specialised in Latin literature. First published in 1956, Shackleton Bailey wrote this book as a contribution to the critical discourse surrounding the four books of elegies which comprise the surviving work of Propertius. Each book is subjected to detailed textual analysis, with the poetry quoted in the original Latin, and an authorial introduction is also included. This book will be of value to anyone with an interest in the works of Propertius and Latin literature."

The revised Latin text better reflects Ciceronian syntax and word order, differing from earlier texts in several hundred instances. The new translation, which faces the Latin text, is the first since 1926. An apparatus gives alternate readings of the text, and the textual appendix provides a rationale for particular passages. Notes and index identify personalities and explain Roman institutions for the novice reader, and introductory notes summarize the historical background.