'Charlotte Higgins's Red Thread is a masterwork' Ali Smith
A thrillingly original, labyrinthine journey through myth, art, literature, history, archaeology and memoir.
The tale of how the hero Theseus killed the Minotaur, finding his way out of the labyrinth using Ariadne's ball of red thread, is one of the most intriguing, suggestive and persistent of all myths, and the labyrinth - the beautiful, confounding and terrifying building created for the half-man, half-bull monster - is one of the foundational symbols of human ingenuity and artistry.
Charlotte Higgins, author of the Baillie Gifford-shortlisted Under Another Sky, tracks the origins of the story of the labyrinth in the poems of Homer, Catullus, Virgil and Ovid, and with them builds an ingenious edifice of her own. Along the way, she traces the labyrinthine ideas of writers from Dante and Borges to George Eliot and Conan Doyle, and of artists from Titian and Velázquez to Picasso and Eva Hesse.
Her intricately constructed narrative asks what it is to be lost, what it is to find one's way, and what it is to travel the confusing and circuitous path of a lived life. Red Thread is, above all, a winding and unpredictable route through the byways of the author's imagination - one that leads the reader on a strange and intriguing journey, full of unexpected connections and surprising pleasures.
| ISBN: | 9781784702649 |
| Publication date: | 9th September 2021 |
| Author: | Charlotte Higgins |
| Publisher: | Vintage an imprint of Random House |
| Format: | Paperback |
| Pagination: | 320 pages |
| Genres: |
Ancient history History of ideas Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval Folklore studies / Study of myth (mythology) Social and cultural history Travel writing |
'Charlotte Higgins's Red Thread is a masterwork' Ali Smith
A thrillingly original, labyrinthine journey through myth, art, literature, history, archaeology and memoir.
The tale of how the hero Theseus killed the Minotaur, finding his way out of the labyrinth using Ariadne's ball of red thread, is one of the most intriguing, suggestive and persistent of all myths, and the labyrinth - the beautiful, confounding and terrifying building created for the half-man, half-bull monster - is one of the foundational symbols of human ingenuity and artistry.
Charlotte Higgins, author of the Baillie Gifford-shortlisted Under Another Sky, tracks the origins of the story of the labyrinth in the poems of Homer, Catullus, Virgil and Ovid, and with them builds an ingenious edifice of her own. Along the way, she traces the labyrinthine ideas of writers from Dante and Borges to George Eliot and Conan Doyle, and of artists from Titian and Velázquez to Picasso and Eva Hesse.
Her intricately constructed narrative asks what it is to be lost, what it is to find one's way, and what it is to travel the confusing and circuitous path of a lived life. Red Thread is, above all, a winding and unpredictable route through the byways of the author's imagination - one that leads the reader on a strange and intriguing journey, full of unexpected connections and surprising pleasures.
Red Thread features in the following genres: Ancient history, History of ideas, Literary studies: ancient, classical and medieval, Folklore studies / Study of myth (mythology), Social and cultural history, Travel writing
Red Thread is available in Paperback, Hardback
Red Thread was written by Charlotte Higgins and published by Vintage an imprint of Random House
Red Thread has 320 pages
£11.69