"Lemprière's dictionary is a remarkable achievement for an undergrauate of twenty-three. It has remained popular because it is so readable; the factual information it contains is more accurately recorded elsewhere but his concise accounts (particularly those of mythological characters), with their elegant phrasing and ironic wit, often recall th etome of his older contemporary, Edward Gibbon" (ODNB).
"'Lemprières Classical Dictionary' is a new kind of manual: the rendering of a body of knowledge not easily accessible in any other form into a series of alphabetical articles for the use of those who lack the time or the learning to seek out the sources. Dictionaries, literary, geographical and biographical there had been, and encyclopaedias; but Lemprière's is the first specialist work designed as a substitute for, rather than as an aid to, learning. It was in fact an early 'cram-book', 'this book being undertaken more particularly for the use of schools', according to the preface. But what started as a popularizing medium has since become a valued and respected part of the literary scene." (PMM).