The Persephone Myth in Young Adult Fiction: From Girl to Woman

(Hardback)

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Investigating the widespread but understudied presence of the Persephone myth within 21st-century young adult literature, Cristina Salcedo Gonzlez analyses six young adult novels which incorporate a reworking of this ancient Greek myth. Through the identification of mythic themes (mythemes) and patterns within these novels, Gonzlez shows that these works evoke the female life cycle and develop current perceptions of the female maturational experience. As a result, Gonzlez makes an important contribution in establishing the cultural significance of young adult literature in the world of classical reception. These novels, all written by women, also inflect or interpret the myth in ways influenced by their contemporary contexts, specifically the impact of the novels target readership on the aspects of the myth that are either emphasised (e.g. Persephones descent into the underworld; her existence there; and her re-ascent) or de-emphasised (e.g. the mourning and wanderings of Demeter). This book makes original methodological contributions through its innovative dual perspective of myth criticism and classical reception to our understanding of the academically neglected genre of young adult literature and the reception of the myth of Persephone. As a result, Gonzlez makes an important contribution in establishing the cultural significance of young adult literature in the world of classical reception.

Reviews

A convincing argument for - and vivid demonstration of - the relevance of Young Adult literature in giving us a full picture of the reception of the ancient world. -- Gregory N. Daugherty, Professor Emeritus of Classics, Randolph-Macon College, USA

Author Bio

Cristina Salcedo Gonzlez is a Postdoctoral Fellow in Classics at the Autonomous University of Madrid, Spain.