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 Bulfinch's Mythology - Deluxe Edition :: 051722688X
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Author: Guest
Myths represent everything that's magical and unlikely -and yet we cannot but admire their underlying wisdom: ever since fables sprung up, man has delighted in analyzing, telling and retelling the stories we now see as an inextricable part of our civilization. It's because of this, and because they so-well mirror our own nature, that mythology is as self-contradictory as it is timeless. Naturally, this fact has turned the subject into another academic battleground. That's maybe why Bullfinch's version of the myths stills stands out a century and a half after it was written: amidst a sea of dry scholarly works, it is easily the most charming and inviting compendium of mythology available.
Thomas Bulfinch, an art-loving bank clerk, had a very clear purpose when he started to write his books: he set out to supply the general reader with an approachable, enticing account of those ancient fables that were so often quoted or alluded to in literature. Snippets from poems by authors such as Milton and Spenser, and specially contemporaries Byron, Shelley, and Longfellow (to whom the volume is dedicated) are used throughout to illustrate the strong connection between myth and English poetry. This approach ended up being very convenient: on the one hand, it gave Bulfinch the freedom to purge whatever he thought to be in disagreement with "good taste", since he claimed such things were alien to "elegant literature"; on the other hand, he could trim his sources down to Ovid and Virgil, who were the ones most English writers read in the first place. Because of such limitations, it may seem easy to dismiss his work as biased, quaint and incomplete; however, time has turned what once was a book on the classics into a classic itself. Nowadays, when we read Bulfinch, we get not only a look into ancient mythology, but a delightful glimpse of 19th Century writing and mentality, too; and his narrowness in approach is more than compensated by the resulting self-consistency.
Bulfinch obviously had a knack for story-telling, and his love for the material comes through at every moment. Those who fear he might have deprived the myths of their piquancy shouldn't worry: Zeus still makes Don Juan look like a eunuch; Oedipus's story keeps all its shocking elements of incest and patricide; Queen Guenever isn't any less obvious in her feelings towards Sir Launcelot; and, on the whole, more blood is spilled than on the goriest Clive Barker novel. Though things like how the Minotaur was conceived are left in the dark, such omissions are the exception rather than the rule. Just like Galland's translation of The Thousand And One Nights hasn't lost its place as arguably the most enjoyable version of them all (even after a thousand-and-one more "faithful" translations have been published), Bulfinch's quirks aren't enough to spoil what's obviously a wonderful work. Of course, like most Victorians, he can be very pompous at times ("...and struck him a fiercely-wounding, severely-venomous, and sternly-smiting blow upon the crown of his head, so that he clove him in twain..."), but his approach is hardly at odds with the material. Overall, what one finds in Bulfinch is a source of endless, childlike wonder.
The volume is divided in three parts: The Age of Fable; The Age of Chivalry; and Legends of Charlemagne. The first one deals mainly with Greek and Roman mythology, but it also contains a short section on the Norse gods and a dab of Easter Mythology; the second retells the stories of King Arthur, the Round Table, and the Mabinogeon; and the third one goes over the romances of the Middle Ages.
Of all the editions of Bulfinch's Mythology published through the years, Gramercy's might just be the most beautiful yet. Leather-bound, with gilt-edged pages and a golden ribbon marker; I was sure it would look great on the shelf, but I was truly surprised when I opened it and saw just how much care went into the making this book, which includes numerous maps, charts and illustrations. I was particularly taken aback by the latter, since, in my experience, most publishers have the remarkable ability to choose for each and every occasion the worst drawings available; here, on the contrary, every one is a treasure. The Index was expanded into a classical and mythological dictionary, in an attempt to turn Bulfinch's work into better reference material -a goal it certainly achieves. Some sections were also added to "add to the rounded completeness of the work", as well as a few verse extracts that came after Bulfinch's time; these new parts blend in with the rest of the material just fine. You can rest assured that, if you are looking for a durable, good-looking complete edition of this classic, Gramercy's is the best you will find, especially given it's incredibly low price. (Modern Library's paperback is probably best if you want a copy to carry around, though.)
Hamilton may be more careful about her sources and analytical in her approach; Graves may be incomparable in his deeply personal, creative interpretation (and "embellishment") of the myths; but Bulfinch is the only one that endeavors to make his love for mythology infectious and the old fables endlessly amusing -and succeeds.
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Author: Guest
Very nice volume, rare to see gilt page edges these days.
A valuable addition to my collection
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