Arcadian Nights: The Greek Myths Reimagined - Hardcover

Spurling, John

3.88

172 ratings by Goodreads

9781468311792: Arcadian Nights: The Greek Myths Reimagined

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 1468311794 ISBN 13: 9781468311792

Publisher: The Overlook Press, 2016

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The classical Greek intellectual tradition pervades nearly every aspect of our modern Western civilization. Our logic and science, our philosophy, politics, literature, architecture, and art are all indebted to the ancient inhabitants of the small mountainous Mediterranean country. And the powerful myths of the Greeks, refined by Homer, Hesiod, Herodotus, and the great Greek dramatists, still resonate at the core of our culture. Taking as his starting point many of the famous tourist sites in the Peloponnese, where the stories are set, John Spurling, winner of the 2015 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, freshly imagines key narratives from the Greek canon, including tales of the doomed house of Atreus (notably Agamemnon, leader of the Greeks at Troy, murdered by his wife in his palace bathroom); of the god Apollo; goddess Athene; Theseus, scourge of the Minotaur; the Twelve Labors of Heracles; and Perseus, rescuer of Andromeda. In this vibrant, gripping and often grisly retelling of the Greek myths, stories of murder, power, revenge, love, and traumatic family relationships are made new again for our time with wit and relish by a gifted author. Spurling has added scene, dialogue, and context, while always staying true to the spirit of the original myth.

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About the Author:

John Spurling is the author of many novels and plays, including The Ten Thousand Things, winner of the 2015 Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction, also available from Overlook. His plays have been performed on stage, television, and radio, including at the National Theatre. He lives in London and Arcadia, Greece, with his wife, biographer Hilary Spurling.

Review:

“Rather than creating an immersive historical fiction narrative (as one might expect from an established author in the genre), Spurling instead adopts the habits of the most readable pop history – seamlessly interweaving personal and historical perspectives, discussing the people and events of prior ages as if they all led inexorably to the world of today . . . Arcadian Nights is good fun.”
- Historical Novels Review

“There is a reason John Spurling won the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction (The Ten Thousand Things), and it will become clear in reading Arcadian Nights in which the Greek myths are dusted off from old college readers like Edith Hamilton’s Mythology and given new life in this fantastic collection...Well-written, Arcadian Nights will be difficult to put down. J”
- New York Journal of Books

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