The Penguin Book of Mermaids

Dive into centuries of mermaid lore with this captivating volume that brings together tales of mermaids from around the world.A Penguin ClassicThe oldest and most popular mythical being, mermaids—in all their alluring, mysterious glory—have captured the imagination since long before Ariel sold her voice to a sea witch in the beloved Disney film adaptation of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." As far back as the eighth century B.C., sailors in Homer's Odyssey stuffed wax in their ears in order to resist the Sirens, who lured men to their watery deaths with song. More than two thousand years later, the gullible New York public lined up to witness a mummified "mermaid" specimen that the enterprising showman P. T. Barnum swore was real. The Penguin Book of Mermaids is a treasury of such tales about water spirits and merfolk from different cultures, from Scottish selkies to Hindu water-snakes to Chilean sea fairies. With incisive...