Monday, January 24, 2022

Author Spotlight: Stephen Fry

     I've mentioned before that British actor, writer, and raconteur is one of my favorite people. He's kind of like a modern day Mark Twain, I think, and I always enjoy his work. I've also always enjoyed reading and learning mythology of all cultures, so bring the two together, and I'm extremely happy.



    Fry's latest book projects have been the retelling of ancient Greek mythology, in three volumes. Mythos is an overview, from the beginning, literally, of the universe.  Heroes contains the stories of the heroic figures who battle with, for and against, the gods.  Troy  is, just as you would expect, Fry's retelling of the epic of the Trojan War. Everything you love about mythology is contained in these volumes, along with Fry's keen wit and insight.  And, of course, these should go on your audiobook list in order to get the full effect of Fry's narration as you're commuting or working out.

    

    And I've already written about his Victorian Secrets and Edwardian Secrets. These are actually Audible originals, and they are podcasts, so there sound effects, music, and interviews with historians included as well. They are great reviews of the seamier, and steamier, side of the periods, stories that you don't find in history books, but stories that we are all interested in.

    Once you're on the Fry bandwagon, look up some of his older books as well.  Stephen Fry In America,  from 2010,  is his travelogue of the USA. Typical British guy trying to figure America out, in the fashion of Charles Dickens, Michael Palin, and Bill Bryson. There was also a video series that aired on PBS, and it's currently available on Amazon Prime Video.

    Fry's also a novelist, of course, and history lovers would be most interested in his alternate history/time travel book, Making History, the story of a graduate student and Holocaust survivor joining forces to try to change the course of history.











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