Audiobook · read by volunteers
Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my Children
Charles Kingsley (1819–1875)
Read by Laura Caldwell, Kara Shallenberg (1969-2023), Colin McRoberts, Tysto, R. S. Steinberg, Jennie Hughes, Lizzie Driver · 16 chapters · 5 h 24
About the book
Three of the greatest Greek adventures are retold here for children, in the clear and lively voice of Charles Kingsley. First comes Perseus, who sets out on a rash vow and faces the Gorgon, a sea monster and a king who wishes him ill. Then the Argonauts sail in search of the golden fleece with a crew of heroes. Finally Theseus goes to Crete to meet the labyrinth and its terrible inhabitant. Kingsley wrote these tales for his own children, and he fills them with sea and sky, with brave deeds and with a firm sense of right and wrong. The language is rich and a little old-fashioned, which suits the age of the stories. Seven LibriVox volunteers read the sixteen parts, and the full recording lasts about five and a half hours, ideal for family listening.
Introduction
Charles Kingsley, who lived from 1819 to 1875, was an English clergyman, professor and writer, known for his novels and for his children’s book The Water-Babies. The Heroes, or Greek Fairy Tales for my Children, published in 1856, was written for his own young family and has remained one of the best-loved English retellings of Greek myth.
The book gathers three stories: Perseus, the Argonauts and Theseus. Kingsley believed that children would enjoy these tales as adventures and also learn from the courage and honour of their heroes. He tells them in a warm and flowing prose, addresses his young listeners directly in the preface and does not hide the dangers his characters face, although he gently moderates some of the harsher elements of the original myths.
As a retelling for children it belongs to the nineteenth-century tradition of making classical stories accessible, and it carries the moral seriousness of its period. A modern listener may notice the Christian outlook that shapes some of Kingsley’s comments, and the emphasis on duty and self-restraint.
This recording has sixteen parts, beginning with the preface and then dividing the stories into sections, and is shared among seven LibriVox volunteers. It lasts about five and a half hours. It is worth hearing today for the quality of the storytelling, for its introduction to some of the best-known figures of mythology and for the pleasure of hearing a Victorian writer enjoy his subject.
Public domain
Charles Kingsley died in 1875: the work is in the public domain in Switzerland, more than 70 years after the author’s death.
The LibriVox volunteers dedicated this recording to the public domain.
Sources : LibriVox page · Files at the Internet Archive · Original text