The Canongate Myth Series is a series of novellas published by the independent Scottish publisher Canongate Books, in which ancient myths from various cultures are reimagined and rewritten. The project was conceived in 1999 by Jamie Byng, owner of Canongate, and the first three titles in the series were published on 21 October 2005.[1] Though the initial novellas received mixed-to-positive reviews,[2][3][4] the project was heralded by many in the press as "bold" and "ambitious",[4][5][6] with the tabloid Metro calling it "one of the most ambitious acts of mass storytelling in recent years".[7]
The series is intended to have an international focus, with contributing authors that have included Russian writer Victor Pelevin and Israeli author David Grossman. Also, the first title in the series, Karen Armstrong's A Short History of Myth, was published the same day in 33 countries and 28 languages, in what The Washington Post called "the biggest simultaneous publication ever".[6] As of 2008, nine books have been published in the series, with Byng hoping to eventually publish 100.[7]
Three titles were published in the United Kingdom on 1 November 2007: Binu and the Great Wall by Su Tong, Girl Meets Boy by Ali Smith, and Where Three Roads Meet by Salley Vickers. Installments in the series are also forthcoming from the authors A. S. Byatt,[1] Chinua Achebe and Natsuo Kirino.[8]
Michel Faber's contribution, The Fire Gospel, was published in 2008. 2009 saw the publication of Baba Yaga Laid an Egg by Dubravka Ugrešić and The Hurricane Party by Klas Östergren.
Orphans of Eldorado by Milton Hatoum and The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ by Philip Pullman were published in 2010.
List of titles
edit| Title | Author | Mythological characters |
Publication date |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Short History of Myth | Karen Armstrong |    21 October 2005 19 October 2005
| |
| The Penelopiad | Margaret Atwood | Penelope, Odysseus | 21 October 2005 19 October 2005
|
| Weight | Jeanette Winterson | Atlas, Heracles | 21 October 2005
|
| The Helmet of Horror | Victor Pelevin (trans. Andrew Bromfield) |
Theseus, the Minotaur |  2005 2 March 2006 October 2006 30 November 2006
|
| Lion's Honey | David Grossman (trans. Stuart Schoffman) |
Samson |  2005 23 March 2006 1 June 2006 October 2006 4 December 2006
|
| Dream Angus | Alexander McCall Smith | Aengus | 12 September 2006 5 October 2006 October 2006
|
| Anna In w grobowcach świata (Anna In in the Tombs of the World) |
Olga Tokarczuk (not translated to English) |
Inanna |  2006
|
| Girl Meets Boy | Ali Smith | Iphis | 1 November 2007 21 December 2007 26 September 2008
|
| Binu and the Great Wall | Su Tong (trans. Howard Goldblatt) |
Meng Jiang Nü |  2006 October 2006 1 November 2007 18 February 2008
|
| Where Three Roads Meet | Salley Vickers | Oedipus, Tiresias | 1 November 2007 10 August 2008
|
| Baba Yaga Laid an Egg | Dubravka Ugrešić | Baba Yaga | April 2008 May 2009
|
| The Fire Gospel | Michel Faber | Prometheus | November 2008 |
| The Goddess Chronicle | Natsuo Kirino (trans. Rebecca Copeland) |
Izanagi, Izanami | 3 March 2013
|
| Orphans of Eldorado | Milton Hatoum | Mythology of Amazonia | January 2008 2 July 2009
|
| The Hurricane Party | Klas Östergren | Norse mythology | 2009 |
| The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ |
Philip Pullman | Christian mythology | April 2010 28 October 2010
|
| Ragnarok: The End of the Gods | A. S. Byatt | Ragnarok | September 2011
|
| The Song of King Gesar | Alai (trans. Howard Goldblatt) (trans. Sylvia Li-chun Lin) |
Epic of King Gesar | November 2013
|
References
edit- ^ a b "World's top writers recruited to rewrite ancient tales", CBC.ca, 21 October 2005.
- ^ "Weight" Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
- ^ "The Penelopiad" Archived 29 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine, Metacritic.com. Retrieved 29 June 2007.
- ^ a b Alexander, Caroline. "Myths Made Modern", The New York Times, 11 December 2005.
- ^ "'Free will is like falling off a roof'"[dead link], The Daily Telegraph, 19 March 2006.
- ^ a b Hand, Elizabeth. "The New Muses: A highly anticipated series of classic myths re-imagined by modern authors", The Washington Post, 25 December 2005.
- ^ a b Canongate Myth Series official site
- ^ FT.com / Arts & weekend / Books – Myth understood
External links
edit- TheMyths.co.uk, Canongate Myths official site
- The Good Man Jesus and the Scoundrel Christ, official book page