Bulfinch's Mythology [B1782]

1963 HCDJ First Spring Books London printing of the 1855 original, with nice clean text pages and a somewhat tattered dust jacket (see photo). This vintage edition is not illustrated. For almost a century and a half, Bulfinch's Mythology has been the text by which the great tales of the European gods and goddesses, Greek and Roman antiquity; Scandinavian, Celtic, and some 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, in his day job, was a clerk in the Merchant's Bank of Boston, an undemanding position that afforded him ample leisure time in which to pursue his other interests. In addition to serving as secretary of the Boston Society of Natural History, he thoroughly researched the myths and legends and copiously cross-referenced them with literature and art. As such, the myths are an indispensable guide to the cultural values of the nineteenth century; however, it is the vigor of the stories themselves that returns generation after generation to Bulfinch.

From recent Amazon/GoodReads reviews of various editions: "Bulfinch's retellings, even of much longer stories like the Illiad and Odyssey, work as much more than summaries of classic myths. They're well told and, from my prior knowledge, fairly comprehensive. This is a great way to get introduced to Greco-Roman mythology. The ending of The Age of Fable only provides a brief glimpse into other cultures though, which is a bit disappointing. The Arthurian section is enjoyable as well, although it didn't deal with nearly as many stories. Both of those sections were really good. I had a much harder time getting through the Charlemagne stories, which all felt like far less interesting versions of the Arthurian myths."; "Finished with the help of Google Notebooks. Prefer the comics."; "Don't get the idea this is authoritative. Yeah, it's useful, but not if you think you are getting everything. You aren't."; "I love mythology and first bought this book as a child. I have reread it to pieces and repurchased a vintage edition twice."; "I read bits of sections when I'm bored and yearning to be transported back into centuries before all this man-made chaos. I have yet to reach the Charlemagne portion, however I do intend to someday. After almost six years I've finally fully read the Greek Mythology portion. Hurrah! I'm not a qualified critic to add much of an official review, so I'll just mark it as 5 stars because it's neat :)"