The Adventures of Odysseus and The Tale of Troy

Padraic Colum

mar 2012 · Courier Corporation

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This classic retelling of Homer's Illiad and Odyssey — written for young readers by Ireland's great poet and playwright — recalls the legendary characters of ancient Greece and their amazing adventures. Both epics are recounted here in The Adventures of Odysseus and The Tale of Troy.
Youngsters will travel with Achilles, who, guided by the gods, seeks vengeance on the Trojans. They'll follow Odysseus on his perilous journey to the land of the Cyclops, a race of giants, each with a single eye in the middle of his forehead. They'll encounter Circe, the evil enchantress who turns Odysseus's men into swine; meet the terrible sea monster Charybdis, who, with Scylla, a six-headed serpent, threatens passing ships and their crews; and confront other wicked forces that attempt to keep Odysseus from returning to his faithful wife, Penelope.
Unequaled as an introduction for youngsters to the classic myths, Colum's stirring tales, enhanced with 17 delightful illustrations by Willy Pogany, offer hours of thrill-packed reading.

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Born in a Longford workhouse where his father was first teacher and then master, Padraic Colum grew into an important figure in the Irish literary renaissance before immigrating to the United States. Invited by the Fay brothers to join the National Theatre Society, he married the teacher and writer Mary Maguire, with whom he undertook several joint projects. The Colums immigrated to the United States in 1914. Colum kept up a varied production of verse, plays, fiction, criticism, and children's literature, together with active lecturing. His most extended teaching appointment was at Columbia University, where he and his wife offered a joint course in comparative literature. Colum felt that his Roman Catholic and peasant roots gave him a closer tie to the Irish folk than did the Protestant, Anglo-Irish background of many writers of the Irish renaissance. His poetry usually deals with common people and rural landscapes in a forthright manner. Colum was resolutely Irish, and his work for the most part avoids didacticism or sentimental nationalism in favor of straightforward presentation.