A Book of Myths

About the book

Jean Lang begins with figures such as Prometheus, Pandora, Pygmalion, and Orpheus, then ranges beyond classical mythology to Baldur, Beowulf, Roland, and the children of Lir. The collection emphasizes the emotional force of a story, often connecting a legendary situation with poetry or a recognizable human longing. Its voice belongs to a later literary retelling, not to a direct translation of one ancient source. The preface's broad theories about peoples and belief likewise reflect the period of the book rather than a neutral modern account. Within that frame, individual tales make powerful contrasts between an aspiration and its cost. Readers can approach the volume as a varied narrative collection while noticing how its storyteller selects and interprets the traditions she brings together.

• Transformation
• Desire and consequence
• Legend and retelling

Why read it

For a broad, readable collection that places familiar classical stories beside northern and Celtic legends.

Myths and legends retold by Jean Lang · English