The Odes of Horace are the cornerstone of lyric poetry in the Western world. This edition of the Odes was first published in the outstanding red Macmillan' series, in which it finally replaced the late nineteenth century edition of T.E. Page.

Quinn's edition is designed to meet the need for a modern approach to students in upper school and university. He begins with the assumption that Horace is a major poet, and that the Odes should be recognised and enjoyed as poetry. The commentary provides linguistic aid at the appropriate level but also attempts to reconstruct the thesis upon which each poem rests, and to interpret it as a structural and poetic whole for the attentive and responsive reader.