Perspective

The book is written mainly in third person, relating the various myths and stories of the Greeks and the Norse. This gives the book an authoritative tone. Sometimes short extracts of ancient poems or tales are given, which are also usually in third person.

Occasionally the author gives her own view on a particular story or writer. She is generally very complimentary of the Greek writers and less so of the Romans. In particular, she is quite scathing of Ovid and Apollodorus, finding the former too disrespectful and fanciful, and the latter too dull. She also feels that the Greeks had more belief and respect for their myths than the Romans did, which she finds more charming. She sees western civilization as owing a lot to the ancient Greeks, more so than to the Romans, and so likes to view them as a rational and civilized people. These...