Greek myths and legends have been told and retold in countless versions for over 2,700 years. They have never exhausted their appeal. Stephen Fry’s impressive trilogy, published in the U.S. as “Mythos” (2019), “Heroes” (2020) and “Troy” (2021), will surely bring in more readers, especially younger ones. He is a lively, elegant writer, a great storyteller, and his books are insightful and erudite, with extensive glossaries and learned footnotes. However, as you read, you can’t help hearing Mr. Fry’s inimitable voice in your head. His witty, urbane style often brings to mind his roles as Oscar Wilde and P.G. Wodehouse’s Jeeves. He is particularly good at dialogue, at times of a sort that might, to use a Wodehouse expression, cause a classics professor to wilt like a salted slug. “ ‘Go on!’ said Odysseus, daring to nudge Agamemnon in the ribs. ‘Marry Clytemnestra! What could possibly go wrong?’ ”
Mr. Fry’s books follow in the tradition of such retellings in modern English prose as Edith Hamilton’s “Mythology” (1942) and Robert Graves’s rather dry “The Greek Myths” (1955). There’s nothing dry about Mr. Fry’s exuberant stories. They’re droll, witty and full of pathos. The books are handsome too, illustrated in full color with photos of classical art and works by old masters.
