Elementary Secondary Higher Ed Common Reads
0 0
Download high-resolution image Look inside

Bulfinch's Mythology

Includes The Age of Fable, The Age of Chivalry & Legends of Charlemagne

Author Thomas Bulfinch
Foreword by Alberto Manguel
Look inside
Paperback
$21.00 US
Random House Group | Modern Library
On sale Aug 11, 1998 | 896 Pages | 9780375751479
Add to cart Add to list Exam Copies

See Additional Formats
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; The Age of Chivalry, 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. For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sags 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 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 an American writer, Latinist, and banker who wrote and collected the first popular English-language retellings of Greek, Roman, Eastern, Scandinavian, Arthurian, and medieval myths in his famous three-volume compilation, Bulfinch’s Mythology. "Without a knowledge of mythology," he wrote, "much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood or appreciated." He added: "We trust our young readers will find it a source of entertainment," and his trust seems to have been justified, judging from the many generations who have found his books an enthralling and loving introduction to the worlds of classical and medieval myth and legend. View titles by Thomas Bulfinch

About

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; The Age of Chivalry, 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. For the Greek myths, Bulfinch drew on Ovid and Virgil, and for the sags 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 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."

Author

Thomas Bulfinch (1796–1867) was an American writer, Latinist, and banker who wrote and collected the first popular English-language retellings of Greek, Roman, Eastern, Scandinavian, Arthurian, and medieval myths in his famous three-volume compilation, Bulfinch’s Mythology. "Without a knowledge of mythology," he wrote, "much of the elegant literature of our own language cannot be understood or appreciated." He added: "We trust our young readers will find it a source of entertainment," and his trust seems to have been justified, judging from the many generations who have found his books an enthralling and loving introduction to the worlds of classical and medieval myth and legend. View titles by Thomas Bulfinch

Additional formats

Other Books by this Author

Related Articles

Literature

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

On Monday, May 5, three Penguin Random House authors were honored with a Pulitzer Prize. Established in 1917, the Pulitzer Prizes are the most prestigious awards in American letters. To date, PRH has 143 Pulitzer Prize winners, including William Faulkner, Eudora Welty, Josh Steinbeck, Ron Chernow, Anne Applebaum, Colson Whitehead, and many more. Take a look at our 2025 Pulitzer Prize

Read more

Three Penguin Random House Authors Win Pulitzer Prizes

Literature
Gender and Sexuality Studies Literature Sociology

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

In June we celebrate Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual + (LGBTQIA+) Pride Month, which honors the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. Pride Month is a time to both celebrate the accomplishments of those in the LGBTQ+ community and recognize the ongoing struggles faced by many across the world who wish to live

Read more

Books for LGBTQIA+ Pride Month

Gender and Sexuality Studies Literature Sociology
Subscribe

Penguin Random House Higher Education

© 2025 Penguin Random House

Back to Top
0
    • 0
    Wish List (0)