25 Books Based on Mythology, Myths and Legends


mythology myths legends retellings books novels

Retellings of mythology and reimaginings of myths and legends are one of my favorite types of books. The same primal themes and storylines that inspired people to pass them down from generation and generation are probably what attract people to them now. I would say that Crice is probably my favorite book out of this list, but honestly there’s so many good ones. This list mainly focuses on books for adults (as opposed to YA books).

What are you favorite retellings of myths or legends? If you know of any more good ones, please feel free to drop a note below!

P.S. For more retellings, see Fairy Tale and Folktale Retellings for Adult Readers


The Silence of the Girls
Pat Barker

What It's About: The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, which continues to wage bloody war over a stolen woman—Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman—Briseis—watches and waits for the war's outcome. She was queen of one of Troy's neighboring kingdoms, until Achilles, Greece's greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers...

Publication Date: August 30, 2018
  
historical fiction mythology greek mythology


A Thousand Ships
Natalie Haynes

What It's About: This is the women’s war, just as much as it is the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn . . .

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames...

Publication Date: May 2, 2019
  
mythology historical fiction fantasy


Circe
Madeline Miller

What It's About: In the house of Helios, god of the sun and mightiest of the Titans, a daughter is born. But Circe is a strange child--neither powerful like her father nor viciously alluring like her mother. Turning to the world of mortals for companionship, she discovers that she does possess power: the power of witchcraft, which can transform rivals into monsters and menace the gods themselves...

Publication Date: April 10, 2018
  
fantasy mythology physical tbr


The Song of Achilles
Madeline Miller

What It's About: Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. By all rights their paths should never cross, but Achilles takes the shamed prince as his friend, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine their bond blossoms into something deeper - despite the displeasure of Achilles' mother Thetis, a cruel sea goddess...

Publication Date: September 20, 2011
  
fantasy historical fiction romance


The Penelopiad
Margaret Atwood

What It's About: Now that all the others have run out of air, it's my turn to do a little story-making.

In Homer's account in The Odyssey, Penelope—wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy—is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan War after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumors, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously...

Publication Date: October 5, 2005
  
mythology historical fiction fantasy


The Labours of Hercules
Agatha Christie

What It's About: First published in book form in 1947, The Labours of Hercules comprises an even dozen mysteries starring Christie's most popular sleuth, the ever-dignified Hercule Poirot. The introductory chapter of the collection sets up the rest of the book. At a dinner party, another guest compares the labors of Poirot to those of Hercules, and the little Belgian is not amused...

Publication Date: June 1, 1984
  
crime short stories hercule poirot


xo Orpheus: Fifty New Myths
Kate Bernheimer

What It's About:

Publication Date: September 24, 2013
  
short stories mythology fantasy


Home Fire
Kamila Shamsie

What It's About: Isma is free. After years of watching out for her younger siblings in the wake of their mother’s death, she’s accepted an invitation from a mentor in America that allows her to resume a dream long deferred. But she can’t stop worrying about Aneeka, her beautiful, headstrong sister back in London, or their brother, Parvaiz, who’s disappeared in pursuit of his own dream, to prove himself to the dark legacy of the jihadist father he never knew...

Publication Date: August 15, 2017
  
contemporary book club literary fiction


Till We Have Faces
C. S. Lewis

What It's About: In this timeless tale of two mortal princesses- one beautiful and one unattractive- C.S. Lewis reworks the classical myth of Cupid and Psyche into an enduring piece of contemporary fiction. This is the story of Orual, Psyche's embittered and ugly older sister, who posessively and harmfully loves Psyche...

Publication Date: February 14, 2017
  
fantasy classics mythology


The King Must Die (Theseus #1)
Mary Renault

What It's About: Theseus is the grandson of the King of Troizen, but his paternity is shrouded in mystery. When he discovers his father's sword beneath a rock, his mother reveals his true identity: Theseus is the son of Aegeus, King of Athens, and is his only heir. So begin Theseus's adventures. He undertakes the perilous journey to his father's palace, escaping bandits and ritual sacrifice in Eleusis, and slays the fearsome Minotaur in Knossos...

Publication Date: May 12, 2015
  
historical fiction mythology historical


The Bull from the Sea (Theseus #2)
Mary Renault

What It's About: “Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers. She does not pretend the past is like the present, or that the people of ancient Greece were just like us. She shows us their strangeness; discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us...

Publication Date: January 1, 1962
  
mythology historical greek mythology


The Children of Jocasta
Natalie Haynes

What It's About: My siblings and I have grown up in a cursed house, children of cursed parents...

Jocasta is just fifteen when she is told that she must marry the King of Thebes, an old man she has never met. Her life has never been her own, and nor will it be, unless she outlives her strange, absent husband...

Publication Date: May 4, 2017
  
greek mythology historical fiction fantasy


Norse Mythology
Neil Gaiman

What It's About: Neil Gaiman has long been inspired by ancient mythology in creating the fantastical realms of his fiction. Now he turns his attention back to the source, presenting a bravura rendition of the great northern tales.

In Norse Mythology, Gaiman stays true to the myths in envisioning the major Norse pantheon: Odin, the highest of the high, wise, daring, and cunning; Thor, Odin’s son, incredibly strong yet not the wisest of gods; and Loki—son of a giant—blood brother to Odin and a trickster and unsurpassable manipulator...

Publication Date: February 7, 2017
  
fantasy mythology audiobook


Mythos: The Greek Myths Retold
Stephen Fry

What It's About: Mythos is a modern collection of Greek myths, stylishly retold by legendary writer, actor, and comedian Stephen Fry. Fry transforms the adventures of Zeus and the Olympians into emotionally resonant and deeply funny stories, without losing any of their original wonder.

This stunning book features classical artwork inspired by the myths, as well as learned notes from the author...

Publication Date: November 2, 2017
  
mythology non fiction audiobook


Heroes: Mortals and Monsters, Quests and Adventures
Stephen Fry

What It's About: There are Heroes - and then there are Greek Heroes.

Few mere mortals have ever embarked on such bold and heart-stirring adventures, overcome myriad monstrous perils, or outwitted scheming vengeful gods, quite as stylishly and triumphantly as Greek heroes.

In this companion to his bestselling Mythos, Stephen Fry brilliantly retells these dramatic, funny, tragic and timeless tales...

Publication Date: November 1, 2018
  
mythology non fiction audiobook


Lavinia
Ursula K. Le Guin

What It's About: In a richly imagined, beautiful new novel, an acclaimed writer gives an epic heroine her voice.

In The Aeneid, Virgil's hero fights to claim the king’s daughter, Lavinia, with whom he is destined to found an empire. Lavinia herself never speaks a word. Now, Ursula K. Le Guin gives Lavinia a voice in a novel that takes us to the half-wild world of ancient Italy, when Rome was a muddy village near seven hills...

Publication Date: April 21, 2008
  
historical fiction fantasy mythology


American Gods
Neil Gaiman

What It's About: First published in 2001, here is the New York Times bestselling novel that became an instant classic and was hailed by USA Today as “a powerful, searing force that makes readers confront what is real and what is not…”—now a TV series from FremantleMedia North America is coming to STARZ with Bryan Fuller and Michael Green as showrunners, and starring Ricky Whittle, Ian McShane, Crispin Glover, Cloris Leachman, and Gillian Anderson...

Publication Date: June 19, 2001
  
fantasy mythology urban fantasy


Anansi Boys (American Gods, #2)
Neil Gaiman

What It's About: God is dead. Meet the kids.

Fat Charlie Nancy's normal life ended the moment his father dropped dead on a Florida karaoke stage. Charlie didn't know his dad was a god. And he never knew he had a brother.

Now brother Spider's on his doorstep -- about to make Fat Charlie's life more interesting...

Publication Date: September 20, 2005
  
urban fantasy mythology audiobook


Oreo
Fran Ross

What It's About: Oreo nace de la unión de Helen —negra— y Samuel —blanco, judío— y se cría con sus abuelos maternos en Filadelfia. Su madre se dedica a tocar el piano en giras interminables por todo el país. Su padre es un inútil que se marchó cuando ella era un bebé, dejándole una misteriosa nota que será el detonante de que ella parta en su busca...

Publication Date: July 7, 2015
  
humor classics dnf


The Odyssey
Homer

What It's About: I felt I needed to include this one for good measure, since The Odyssey by Homer is clearly the OG of mythological retellings. One obstacle in reading this book is that you have to choose a translation. I like the Robert Fagles one, but I'm hardly an expert on The Odyssey translations.

Publication Date: February 17, 1999
  
classics poetry mythology


The Mere Wife
Maria Dahvana Headley

What It's About: Two mothers—a suburban housewife and a battle-hardened veteran—struggle to protect those they love in this modern retelling of Beowulf.

From the perspective of those who live in Herot Hall, the suburb is a paradise. Picket fences divide buildings—high and gabled—and the community is entirely self-sustaining...

Publication Date: July 17, 2018
  
fantasy retellings mythology


The Wrath and the Dawn
Renée Ahdieh

What It's About: One Life to One Dawn.

In a land ruled by a murderous boy-king, each dawn brings heartache to a new family. Khalid, the eighteen-year-old Caliph of Khorasan, is a monster. Each night he takes a new bride only to have a silk cord wrapped around her throat come morning. When sixteen-year-old Shahrzad's dearest friend falls victim to Khalid, Shahrzad vows vengeance and volunteers to be his next bride...

Publication Date: May 12, 2015
  
young adult romance retellings


The Golem and the Jinni
Helene Wecker

What It's About: Chava is a golem, a creature made of clay, brought to life by a disgraced rabbi who dabbles in dark Kabbalistic magic, created to be the wife of a man who dies at sea on the voyage from Poland. Chava is unmoored and adrift as the ship arrives in New York harbor in 1899.

Ahmad is a jinni, a being of fire born in the ancient Syrian desert, trapped in an old copper flask, and released in New York City, though still not entirely free...

Publication Date: April 13, 2013
  
historical fiction magical realism historical


The Once and Future King
T. H. White

What It's About: T.H White′s masterful retelling of the Arthurian legend is an abiding classic. Here all five volumes that make up the story are published in one volume, as White himself always wished. Exquisite comedy offsets the tragedy of Arthur′s personal doom as White brings to life the major British epic of all time with brilliance, grandeur, warmth and charm.

Publication Date: June 1, 1987
  
fantasy classics historical fiction


The Mists of Avalon
Marion Zimmer Bradley

What It's About: Here is the magical legend of King Arthur, vividly retold through the eyes and lives of the women who wielded power from behind the throne. A spellbinding novel, an extraordinary literary achievement, THE MISTS OF AVALON will stay with you for a long time to come....

Publication Date: October 31, 2000
  
historical fiction arthurian mythology

mythology myths legends retellings books novels

mythology myths legends retellings books novels

mythology myths legends retellings books novels

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