A vibrant, gripping and often grisly retelling of Greek myths by the author of The Ten Thousand Things, winner of the 2015 Walter Scott Prize. Over the centuries, legendary figures and mythic monsters have inspired art, literature, and drama. They have persisted in classic Greek tales, violent stories of murder, power, revenge, love, lust and dysfunctional family relationships. Although ancient in origin, they are contemporary in their portrayal of human character and motivation. Master of historical fiction (Kirkus) John Spurling freshly reimagines key narratives from the Greek canon including tales of the doomed house of Atreus, of the sun god Apollo, Theseus scourge of the minotaur, the Twelve Labours of Heracles and Perseus, rescuer of Andromeda. Inspired by the great poets and playwrights - from Homer to Euripides - this exemplary recounting for a new generation of readers young and old tells us much about these human archetypes in a lively and contemporary style.

Author Biography

John Spurling is the author ofThe Ten Thousand Things, winner of the 2015 Walter Scott Prize. His other novels include The Ragged End, After Zenda and A Book of Liszts. He is a prolific playwright, whose plays have been performed on television, radio and stage, including at the National Theatre. Spurling is a frequent reviewer and was for twelve years the art critic of the New Statesman. He lives in London and Arcadia, Greece, and is married to the biographer Hilary Spurling.