The Heroes - Or, Greek Fairy Tales

By Charles Kingsley

Originally published in 1896, this is an unusual collection of Old Greek Fairy Tales. Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900's and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sullivan Press
• Release date: Apr 10, 2014
• ISBN: 9781473392656

Charles Kingsley

Charles Kingsley was born in Holne, Devon, in 1819. He was educated at Bristol Grammar School and Helston Grammar School, before moving on to King's College London and the University of Cambridge. After graduating in 1842, he pursued a career in the clergy and in 1859 was appointed chaplain to Queen Victoria. The following year he was appointed Regius Professor of Modern History at Cambridge, and became private tutor to the Prince of Wales in 1861. Kingsley resigned from Cambridge in 1869 and between 1870 and 1873 was canon of Chester cathedral. He was appointed canon of Westminster cathedral in 1873 and remained there until his death in 1875. Sympathetic to the ideas of evolution, Kingsley was one of the first supporters of Darwin's On the Origin of Species (1859), and his concern for social reform was reflected in The Water-Babies (1863). Kingsley also wrote Westward Ho! (1855), for which the English town is named, a children's book about Greek mythology, The Heroes (1856), and several other historical novels.

Reviews for The Heroes - Or, Greek Fairy Tales

[mrslee_1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Charles Kingsley had a great admiration for the ancient Greeks, he wanted to share that with his children and so he wrote this book. His children were very young at the time, and the time was the late 1800s. All these things must be taken into account if you are going to read this book. The myths are toned down and all objectionable bits removed (except for the killing bits). At times there is moralizing and a condescending tone, which grates on our modern ears. That being said, it is still a very nice introduction into the Greek myths for young children. This particular edition is nice for teaching, as it has lots of interesting facts about the culture, history, archaeological finds and the nature of myths themselves at the end, and throughout there are illustrations copied from bits of vases and vocabulary words in the margins. It also includes the author's original preface at the end, which personally, I would skip. That is where the tone is the most grating.

[gmillar_8 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This delightful little book presents the stories of Perseus, The Argonauts and Theseus. It is clearly intended for young readers and the teachers of young people. This one concludes with a couple of pages on the pronunciation of the proper names that appear in the stories, a "Life of Charles Kingsley" and some Exercises in Composition. I personally treasure all these little books in the series. I find that Charles Kingsley is one of history's bright sparks whom I would love to have dinner with.