Jean Lang (1867–1932)

A lovely collection of myths - primarily Greek, Roman, and Norse - written at the beginning of the 20th century. The language is rich and wonderful. There are two introductory essays; one written just before World War I and one written in 1914 after the war had begun. The note of despair and hope in the second is touching. The stories themselves are appropriately ageless, except for that of Daedelus and Icarus. The author allows a moment of personal connection by equating Icarus' delight and heedlessness in flight with those humans who were just at the time of publication discovering the wonders of airplane flying.… (mehr)