A lecturer at the University of Bristol, Pitman published this edition of Tacitus' Annals in Oxford in 1912. The title of the work derives from Tacitus' style of history, which he dealt with on a year-by-year basis. Annals covered the reigns of four Roman emperors, beginning after the death of Augustus. Of the 16 original books covering a period of 54 years, much of what Tacitus wrote has not survived. This edition of Annals includes four books: the incomplete Book 5 and Book 6, which cover the final years and death of Tiberius, and Books 11 and 12 which cover the end of the reign of Claudius. (Books 7 to 10 are missing.) The text and introduction are from the 1894 edition by Henry Furneaux; Pitman's intention is 'to serve the needs of students requiring a less copious and advanced commentary' than that supplied by Furneaux.