Title of the work
Country of the First Edition
Country/countries of popularity
Original Language
First Edition Date
First Edition Details
Ian Serraillier, Heracles the Strong. New York: H. Z. Walck, Inc., 1970, 102 pp.
ISBN
Genre
Action and adventure fiction
Illustrated works
Myths
Target Audience
Crossover (Children/Young Adults)
Cover
We are still trying to obtain permission for posting the original cover.
Author of the Entry:
Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Peer-reviewer of the Entry:
Lisa Maurice, Bar-Ilan University, lisa.maurice@biu.ac.il
Elżbieta Olechowska, University of Warsaw, elzbieta.olechowska@gmail.com
Rocco Negri
, b. 1932
(Illustrator)
Negri was born in Italy and moved to the United States in 1959. He studied at the Art Students League in New York City in 1960, the School of Visual Arts in New York City in 1964, and at the Pratt Graphic Center in New York City in 1975. He illustrated numerous children’s books such as Renfroe's Christmas, Casa Means Home, Tales from Count Lucanor, The Son of the Leopard, and Pampalche of the Silver Teeth.
Sources:
Profile on Prabook (accessed: June 26, 2018).
Bio prepared by Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Ian Serraillier
, 1912 - 1994
(Author)
Serraillier was a British novelist and poet. He attended St. Edmund’s Hall, a college of the University of Oxford, and worked as an English teacher for twenty-five years. He published his first children’s book in 1946. He wrote retellings of English, Greek, and Roman legends such as Beowulf, and The Canterbury Tales. His book The Silver Sword (1956) is his most well-known children’s book, and was adapted for television in 1957 and again in 1971 by the BBC. In 1948, Serraillier and his wife founded the New Windmill series, published by Heinemann Educational Books. He worked as co-editor of the series, producing over 350 titles, until the onset of Alzheimer’s in the early 1990s.
Sources:
Profile at the seh.ox.ac.uk (accessed: January 23, 2018).
Profile at the penguin.com.au (accessed: January 23, 2018).
Profile at the Wikipedia (accessed: January 23, 2018).
Profile at the gradesaver.com (accessed: January 23, 2018).
Bio prepared by Allison Rosenblum, Bar-Ilan University, allie.rose89@gmail.com
Summary
Heracles, the son of a mortal woman and the god, Zeus, was hated by Hera. She inflicted him with madness and he committed a terrible crime. As penance, he served King Eurystheus and was set twelve difficult and dangerous labours to perform.
Analysis
In this book about Hercules there are 15 chapters that correspond to his birth, the Twelve Labours, and the end of his life. The narration is very story-like as opposed to having a didactic or historical/educational bend, almost matter-of-fact, and without any bias towards Hercules’ side of the story. It is told in a way so as not to make Hercules seem egoistic, or the gods as malevolent beings, allowing the reader to draw their own opinion about the myth and the characters involved.
There are black and white woodcuts every few pages throughout the book, lending an ancient feel to the story although they are not influenced by classical Greek art.
Sources used by the author:
Euripides, Alcestis and Other Plays (translated by Philip Vellacott, Penguin Books, Inc.)
Euripides, Medea and Other Plays (translated by Philip Vellacott, Penguin Books, Inc.)
Graves, Robert, The Greek Myths (George Braziller, Inc.)
Kerenyi, C., The Gods of the Greeks (Vanguard Press, Inc.)
Kerenyi, C., The Heroes of the Greeks (Grove Press, Inc.)
Lempriere, J., Classical Dictionary (E.P Dutton & Co., Inc.)
Apollodorus, Apollonius Rhodius, Euripides, Ovid: The Metamorphoses, Sophocles, Theocritus. "Loeb Classical Library" (Harvard University Press)
Sophocles, Electra and Other Plays (translated by E. F. Watling, Penguin Books, Inc.)
Warner, Rex, Men and Gods (Random House, Inc.).
