Bullfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch

Bullfinch's Mythology by Thomas Bulfinch

For almost a century and a half, Bulfinch's Mythology has been the text by which the great tales of the gods and goddesses, Greek and Roman antiquity; Scandinavian, Celtic, and Oriental fables and myths; and the age of chivalry have been known.

The stories are divided into three sections: The Age of Fable or Stories of Gods and Heroes (first published in 1855); The Age of Chivalry (1858), which contains King Arthur and His Knights, The Mabinogeon, and The Knights of English History; and Legends of Charlemagne or Romance of the Middle Ages (1863). For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sagas of the north, from Mallet's Northern Antiquities. He provides lively versions of the myths of Zeus and Hera, Venus and Adonis, Daphne and Apollo, and their cohorts on Mount Olympus; the love story of Pygmalion and Galatea; the legends of the Trojan War and the epic wanderings of Ulysses and Aeneas; the joys of Valhalla and the furies of Thor; and the tales of Beowulf and Robin Hood.

The tales are eminently readable. As Bulfinch wrote, Without a knowledge of mythology much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood and appreciated. . . . Our book is an attempt to solve this problem, by telling the stories of mythology in such a manner as to make them a source of amusement.

Thomas Bulfinch (1796-1867) was the author of Bulfinch's Mythology, which was the standard reference work on the subject for students and curious readers for over a century. In addition to this classic text, he wrote Age of Fable, another book intended to popularize mythology. Using Ovid and Virgil as his sources, he masterfully created a world that his audience could understand and visit in their imaginations.

Nathaniel Hawthorne (1804-1864), the famed American author of The Scarlet Letter, is credited with the 19th century resurgence in children's interest in mythology and fairytales. A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys and the Tanglewood Tales are the most famous examples of his work in retelling classic tales and myths.

Walter Crane (1845-1915) was a major British artist, best known as a children's book illustrator and avid promoter of the decorative arts. His work was highly influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites and is considered one of the pioneer of the Art Nouveau movement. His most celebrated artworks include The Renaissance of Venus (1877) and The Frog Prince series (1873).

John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was an English painter best known for his large-scale paintings of Classical mythological subjects. His most celebrated work include The Lady of Shalott (1888) and The Soul of the Rose (1908).

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9780679600466
ISBN 10	0679600469
Title	Bullfinch's Mythology
Author	Thomas Bulfinch
Series	Modern Library
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Random House USA Inc
Year published	1993-03-23
Number of pages	877
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.