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Mythology

Tales' category of mythology contains some of the oldest written texts in history. The mythology books will take you on adventurous journeys through ancient worlds of brave heroes and great gods of the past. Our collection covers myth from all around the world. You can find stories about the Vikings’ Norse gods and sorceresses, but you can also dive into the legendary and heroic tales of Ancient Greece. You can also get wiser on Ancient Egypt and it’s gods and pharaohs. Finally you will find mythology books about Ancient Japan with descriptions of its traditions and customs. Get ready to be inspired by the stories of the past.
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  • Save 20%
    by Amal El-Mohtar
    £11.99

  • by Natania Barron
    £14.99

  • Save 21%
    by Emily Maguire
    £13.49

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    by Nydia Hetherington
    £14.99

  • Save 23%
    by Eowyn Ivey
    £15.49

  • Save 23%
    by Hazel McBride
    £15.49

  • Save 10%
    by Jade Linwood
    £8.99

    A gender-flipped Beauty and the Beast meets The Bachelor with werewolves, bears and fairytale princesses.

  • Save 11%
    by J .R. R Tolkien
    £7.99 - 10.99

  • Save 15%
    by Anna Chorlton
    £10.99

  • Save 21%
    by Helen Nde
    £13.49

    Combining vivid storytelling, astonishing imagination and careful research, this is the ultimate collection of African folklore, with 50 entertaining tales and commentary from noted folklorist Helen Nde, presented in a beautiful, foiled gift package.From creation myths and foundation legends to fascinating stories of human relationships and amusing animal tales, these stories provide a diverse look at the countries and cultures across the African continent. Noted folklorist Helen Nde also provides marvellous context for history and colonial influences for the stories.Read 50 stories that take you north to Egypt, west to Sierra Leone, east to Somalia, south to South Africa and many places in-between. Discover the geographical and cultural variety of the continent with stories such as:• FROM ALGERIA: "The Story of the First Man and Woman", who meet when they struggle over access to a well, but go on to have 100 children and start the human race.• FROM SUDAN: "Okwa and the River Maiden", a tale about the great-grandson of the first man who seeks the river spirit's approval to marry two river maidens, half women and half crocodiles.• FROM ZIMBABWE: "The Moon and His Wives", a story about the first man who pleads with the creator to become mortal and go to earth, where the first star becomes his companion.• FROM GHANA: "How Goat Caused a War" by tricking the Supreme Being and giving his holy message to the wrong prince.• FROM TANZANIA: "The Singing Kaguru Birds", who offer help and riches to poor folk in exchange for a strict rule or even a trick.Carefully researched and vividly retold these stories represent a vital and fresh perspective on African Folktales for anyone interested in folktales, mythology and storytelling from around the world.

  • Save 23%
    by Minsoo Kang
    £15.49

    A beautifully crafted, enriching saga inspired by East Asian mythology, The Melancholy of Untold History is Minsoo Kangs debut novel, steeped in history like R.F. Kuangs Babel, epic in scope like Anthony Doerrs Cloud Cuckoo Land, and lyrically exciting like David Mitchells Cloud Atlas, interweaving four complex yet entertaining stories as they shape and create a nations literary narrative through the themes of love and grief.A history professor mourning his wife. His young protgs search for a path forward. Four witty mountain gods with much to say and not enough time to listen. A gifted storyteller bringing a world into being out of thin air...Famous for his dispelling of the national myth, the Historian understands the power of narrative. He has inspired another young professor to search for her own truths, while trying to understand the way fiction creates fact and how sometimes the past can only be understood by filling in holes with a new narrative. Which is exactly what he needs when his wife passes away to parse meaning out of a world that no longer makes sense. Together the protg and the Historian find comfort in each other. Yet they know their time together is fleeting, as time usually is. Only the gods have an abundance of time, and yetthe two discovereven that might not be so clear cut. Part of their homelands myth tells of four gods who squabbled and argued and destroyed and rebuilt time and again. Or did they?Because, of course, even the gods need mouthpieces on earth. And the one the Historian knows ofthe elusive Storytellermay have just been spinning tales for his own amusement and, ultimately, revenge. By fabricating the exploits of the gods, he could have set a course for certain events to unfold and a particular story to survive today. Spanning 3,000 years and multiple voiceswith tales within tales woven expertly togetherThe Melancholy of Untold History reveals a people and its individuals who seek to confront the hardships of life through storytelling. Mixing the East Asian mythos with a postmodern approach to standard sci-fi/fantasy narrative tropes, Minsoo Kang has created a challenging, beautiful, sad, humorous, and ultimately unforgettable novel of love, grief, and myth-making.

  • Save 20%
    by Bex Hogan
    £11.99

  • by Signe Maene
    £14.49

  • by Lopamudra Maitra
    £29.49

  • Save 14%
    by Rachel Spence
    £9.49

    A collection of poems in two sections reimagining the Greek myth of Medea and personal sonnets exploring the author's time caring for her mother.

  • Save 10%
    by Yangsze Choo
    £8.99 - 15.49

  • Save 14%
    by Heather Parry
    £9.49

    The hotly anticipated debut novel from award-winning author Heather Parry, Orpheus Builds a Girl is a truly chilling modern Gothic, based on a true story of sexual obsession and evil masquerading as love. For fans of Carmen Maria Machado, Eliza Clark, Kristen Roupenian and Julia Armfield

  • Save 24%
    by P. C. Cast
    £18.99

    From P. C. Cast, #1 New York Times bestselling author of the landmark House of Night urban fantasy series, comes an epic, lusty, magic-filled romantasy about British warrior queen Boudicca. Perfect for fans of Sue Lynn Tan and Madeline Miller!In Roman-occupied Britain, the Iceni tribe crowns an extraordinary new queen. Tall and flame-haired, Boudicca is devoted to Andraste, the Iceni’s patron goddess, known for her raven familiar, her fierceness and her swirling blue tattoos. Boudicca and her two young daughters will carry the tribe forward in dangerous times.Roman tax collector Catus Decianus, expecting weakness in a female ruler, launches a devastating attack on the tribe’s stronghold. Boudicca and her family barely survive—but they refuse to bend the knee. She calls a war council, bringing together her most trustworthy allies, including her childhood friend Rhan, now a powerful Druid seer, and the horse master Maldwyn, whose devotion to Boudicca runs deeper than a warrior to a queen.Surprising the Romans, Boudicca’s armies sack the wealthy cities of Camulodunum, Londinium and Veralamium. As the snow falls, the Celts retreat to a hidden valley to plot their assault on the remaining Roman legions, determined to force the invaders from Britan.But in the jagged ice of winter the Druid Rhan foresees a tragic end to Boudicca’s rebellion. Although the defeat of the Iceni is spelled out in signs sent by the gods, Rhan swears she will alter the future and save her queen. Now the battle-hardened Boudicca must put her trust in the powers of the otherworld to save her from both the traitors in her midst and from Rome’s mighty legions.Inspired by the rich history of Boudicca’s attack on Roman Britain, bestselling author P. C. Cast crafts an epic, mythic retelling of one of time’s most legendary female warriors.

  • Save 10%
    by Elisabeth J. Hobbes
    £8.99

    1924 Midsummer's Day

  • Save 23%
    by Seanan McGuire
    £15.49

  • Save 20%
    by Peter Stevenson
    £11.99

    A story walk along the Welsh coast to enjoy the folk tales of the sea, collected and told by professional storyteller Peter Stevenson

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    by Lindsey Kelk
    £8.99

  • Save 19%
    by Lev Grossman
    £10.49

  • by Bob (Senior Research Fellow at the C.W. Post Campus Brier
    £15.49 - 17.99

  • by Cara Colter
    £8.99

    Invitation to His Billion-Dollar BallTHE ENEMY...OR PRINCE CHARMING?

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    by Eilish Quin
    £9.49

  • Save 15%
    by Wilhelm Grimm
    £10.99

  • Save 15%
    by Aesop
    £10.99

    A collection of charming and enduring stories that convey morals to young and old alike.Aesop was a slave and storyteller who lived in ancient Greece around 620564 BC. No writings by him exist (if they ever existed at all), yet numerous stories and tales have been credited to him and have been shared through oral tradition throughout the world. Many of these use animals as the main characters to convey deeper meanings and morals that have become ingrained in our cultural--and personal--belief systems. For example, in ';The Goatherd and the Goat' we learn that there is no use trying to hide what can't be hidden. In ';The Ass and the Purchaser' we find that people are known by the company they keep. In ';The Boys and the Frogs,' one person's pleasure may be another person's pain. ';The Dogs and the Fox' show how easy it is to kick a man when he's down. And misery loves company, as we see in ';The Fox Without a Tail.' * The widely popular collection of stories has sold millions of copies and has been translated into countless languages and dialects.Aesop's Fables have been one of the world's most charming collections of stories that have influenced thousands of other literary works.

  • Save 10%
    by Ithell Colquhoun
    £8.99

    A trancelike feminist fable of magic, alchemy, and the battle of the sexes by Britain's foremost surrealist painterCalcination. Putrefaction. Exaltation. Trapped on an enchanted island ruled by her uncle, a young woman must pass through the stages of alchemical transformation to escape. He wants to conquer death by magic - and she may pay the price for his ambition. Lushly visual, rife with symbols and cries from the unconscious, Colquhoun's first novel is a surreal feminist fable, and a supreme artistic vision. Includes 'Hexentanz', a lost chapter from the original manuscript.

Mythology
Mythology is the foundation of many of today's stories, take for example the stories of King Arthur and Merlin, a well-known story that goes back to the celtic mythologies. It has fascinated many writers all around the world and with good reason. Myths take you on fascinating and sometimes even magical journeys and into the ancient worlds of the past. The mythologies build on folklore and you can learn a lot about the ancient lifestyles by reading mythology books. The themes in mythologies are often built around honor and bravery, but the tales also have their own universal moral message. 

Norse mythology books
In the Nordic countries we have a long and proud history of folk tales and some of them can be traced all the way back to the Middle Ages and even before that, to what we describe as the Norse period, where all the Scandinavian countries were connected as one and not divided into nations. The North was instead formed by many smaller societies, who lived comparatively insulated and connected to nature. Such a life could be hard and created fertile soil for folklore and the belief in supernatural creatures, which are found in many folk tales. Most of the tales were part of an oral tradition and were often handed down through many generations. The mythology tales were first written down and converted into mythology books many years after they were told for the first time. 
We cannot mention the Norse period without the Vikings. Vikings are known all over the world for their strength, ships and sometimes brutal conquests, but the Vikings were defined by so much more than that. They had for example a vivid and intriguing tradition for mythology. To the Vikings they were so much more than myths, it was their religion. The Norse religion referred to as Asatru consists of multiple gods, goddresses, brave heroes and volvas, which were strong female sorcerers and fortune tellers. If you want to find your way to get started in Nordic mythology you can find a good description and overview in Penguin Book of Norse myths - Gods of the Vikings

Greek mythology books
Some of the greatest and most famous myths are found in Ancient Greece. You might have heard about the gods Zeus and Prometheus, the goddesses Athena and Aphrodite, and the heroes Hercules and Achilles? They are just a few of the unique figures of Ancient Greek mythology. They are found in some of the greatest classics of world literature; the Iliad and the Odyssey written by Homer. At Tales you can get them as mythology books in their traditional verse form, but we would also recommend you to take a look at Stephen Fry’s interpretations of the classical tales. Fry takes the timeless classics into modern times by rewriting the mythologies in a modern, easy understandable english, but he still keeps the essence of the Ancient mythologies. You can find Stephen Fry’s Heroes and Mythos in our selection of mythological books. 

Egyptian mythology books
Another world of mythologies is found in Ancient Egypt. Here we come across Ancient gods and goddesses with faces formed as animals. One of the central gods in Egyptian mythology is the sun god Ra. Ra was the incarnation of the sun, which was the foundation of life. In Egyptian mythology we also find mummies. Mummies were the deceased faraos, who were embalmed and covered in gaze to restore them for the afterlife. The god Osiris would then help them on their way through the afterlife. The mummies were placed in their own pyramid, who would show the greatness of the faraos for the times to come. The pyramids still stand in Egypt and show the history of the past. Among our egyptian mythology books you find the book Egyptian Mythology, which has collected all the fascinating tales of Ancient Egypt and all its gods, goddesses and legendary creatures. 

Japanese mythology books 
You can also find japanese mythology books in Tales’ selection. The japanese myths are little known to people, but contain many amazing stories. You can for example find the story behind the samurais, an Ancient collection of warriors in the japanese armies. A samurai had to live up to certain virtues in order to keep his status. A samurai should both be loyal and have a high level of endurance, modesty, and honor. You could learn a lot about a country from its mythology, because it is the foundation of the country’s culture, although a lot of changes have found place since then. If you aren’t familiar with japanese mythology, we recommend you to read the Handbook of Japanese Mythology among our collection of japanese mythology books. 

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