“The ideal of happiness of many American children is to lose themselves in A Wonder-Book.” - Henry James

In 1851, many decades before Percy Jackson and his fellow demi-gods and heroes conquered popular culture in the twenty first century, Nathaniel Hawthorne delighted young readers with A Wonder-Book for Girls and Boys - the first book of Greek mythology retold for children. In this groundbreaking new edition, Hawthorne’s tales of Perseus and Medusa, King Midas and Hercules, Pegasus and many more familiar figures from the classical world live again to spark wonder for a new generation of readers!
 
"This splendid edition will allow new readers of all ages to enjoy Hawthorne’s high-spirited, inventive retellings of ancient myths. The Introduction helpfully relates the collection both to Hawthorne’s own life and times and to today’s remarkable upsurge of interest in classical mythology." - Professor Sheila Murnaghan, editor of Childhood and the Classics: Britain and America, 1850-1965 (Oxford University Press 2018).
 
"This is an excellent edition of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s A Wonder Book for Boys and Girls that will appeal to children and adults alike. The editors do an excellent job in their thorough introduction and the educational resources for teachers, including prompts, questions, exercises, and projects, are quite impressive. All in all, this is a delightful companion to Hawthorne studies and to children’s studies." - Professor Monika Elbert, Editor, Nathaniel Hawthorne Review.