Arcadian Nights: Gods, Heroes and Monsters from Greek Myth – from the winner of the Walter Scott Prize for Historical Fiction - Hardcover

'Spurling is a first-rate storyteller and this collection should delight everyone from the scholar of Greek myths to one reading them for the first time' * We Love This Book * 'An excellent read that examines the intricacies of storytelling and the complexities of human nature' -- Helena Gumley-Mason * The Lady * 'It has the sensual prose that makes the reader purr with delight & is surely destined to be one of the books of the year.' * Daily Mail * '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' * New York Journal of Books * 'Classicists and non-classicists alike will love Arcadian Nights... a great book' * Oxford Today * 'This book shines... seamlessly interweaving personal and historical perspectives... Arcadian Nights is good fun' * Historical Novels Review * 'This book shines... seamlessly interweaving personal and historical perspectives... Arcadian Nights is good fun' * Historical Novels Review * 'Arcadian Nights is a brilliant, riveting book that leaves its competitors behind, blinking into the distance, as surely as Theseus left Ariadne' * TLS *

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. Taking as his starting point many of the famous tourist sites in the Peloponnese, where the stories are set, John Spurling 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.