1. What drew you to writing / working with Classical Antiquity and what challenges did you face in selecting, representing, or adapting particular myths or stories?

I had already written a children’s novel using the central characters and was looking for a way in which to use them again. The improbable idea of a 10-year-old girl performing the Labours of Hercules proved attractive. The challenges came from my wish that the Labours should be performed without violence. I needed to find variety in the performing of the Labours.

2. Why do you think classical / ancient myths, history, and literature continue to resonate with young audiences?

Children are good at accepting the credibility of stories which have a mythical element even though they are inherently improbable. A setting which is clearly in the past – “once upon a time” – helps the credibility.

3. Do you have a background in classical education (Latin or Greek at school or classes at the University?) What sources are you using? Scholarly work? Wikipedia? Are there any books that made an impact on you in this respect? 

“O” level Latin at age 15 was the extent of my formal classical education. I read widely. Robert Graves was an early source. I used Wikipedia as well. 

4. Did you think about how Classical Antiquity would translate for young readers, esp. in (insert relevant country)?

The Labours were performed in Greece and I felt that was sufficiently “foreign” for a UK reader to be able to make the imaginative leap into accepting the events as “fact”.

5. How concerned were you with “accuracy” or “fidelity” to the original? (another way of saying that might be – that I think writers are often more “faithful” to originals in adapting its spirit rather than being tied down at the level of detail – is this something you thought about?)

The fact that the Labours were performed by a young girl meant that I could not adhere to the accepted account of events. I did ensure that all the Labours were achieved and that the various “monsters” were accurately portrayed, though they were all given voices, which, of course, they di not have in any original version.

6. Are you planning any further forays into classical material?

I have written an account of the retrieval of the Golden Fleece; Crib and the Golden Fleece. Crib does rather better than Jason. I am still seeking a publisher. 

Prepared by Ayelet Peer, Bar-Ilan University, ayelet.peer@gmail.com