The Odyssey

by Homer

• ISBN13: 9781909621459
• ISBN10: 1909621455
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2016-10-04
• Publisher: Collectors Library

Summary

The Odyssey can claim to be Western literature's first adventure story, and describes the ten-year wanderings of Odysseus in his quest to return home after the Trojan war. He encounters giants, sorceresses and sea-monsters before he can get home and then must remain in disguise while seeking a way to rid his home of the suitors who, believing him dead, have besieged his wife. Both an enchanting fairy tale and a gripping drama, The Odyssey is eminently readable, not least for the rich complexity and magnetism of its hero.

This translation is by T. E. Lawrence, with an Afterword by Ben Shaw.

Designed to appeal to the booklover, the Macmillan Collector's Library is a series of beautifully bound gift editions of much loved classic titles. Bound in real cloth, printed on high quality paper, and featuring ribbon markers and gilt edges, Macmillan Collector's Library are books to love and treasure.

Author Biography

The identity of the writer of the Odyssey is a matter of some speculation. The ancients were convinced it was Homer, although they tended to disagree as to biographical details. The best supported evidence suggests he lived in Chios, an island off the west coast of Turkey, some time between 1100 and 700BC, probably closer to the latter. Traditionally portrayed as revered, old and blind, he composed the Iliad and Odyssey and possibly the Homeric Hymns, a series of choral addresses to the gods.