Myths and Legends [Import] [Paperback]

Anthony Horowitz (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Kingfisher Books (2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0753415259
• ISBN-13: 978-0753415252
• Product Dimensions: 7.6 x 5.1 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #5,350,871 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Anthony Horowitz's life might have been copied from the pages of Charles Dickens or the Brothers Grimm. Born in 1956 in Stanmore, Middlesex, to a family of wealth and status, Anthony was raised by nannies, surrounded by servants and chauffeurs. His father, a wealthy businessman, was, says Mr. Horowitz, "a fixer for Harold Wilson." What that means exactly is unclear -- "My father was a very secretive man," he says-- so an aura of suspicion and mystery surrounds both the word and the man. As unlikely as it might seem, Anthony's father, threatened with bankruptcy, withdrew all of his money from Swiss bank accounts in Zurich and deposited it in another account under a false name and then promptly died. His mother searched unsuccessfully for years in attempt to find the money, but it was never found. That too shaped Anthony's view of things. Today he says, "I think the only thing to do with money is spend it." His mother, whom he adored, eccentrically gave him a human skull for his 13th birthday. His grandmother, another Dickensian character, was mean-spirited and malevolent, a destructive force in his life. She was, he says, "a truly evil person", his first and worst arch villain. "My sister and I danced on her grave when she died," he now recalls.
A miserably unhappy and overweight child, Anthony had nowhere to turn for solace. "Family meals," he recalls, "had calories running into the thousands&. I was an astoundingly large, round child&." At the age of eight he was sent off to boarding school, a standard practice of the times and class in which he was raised. While being away from home came as an enormous relief, the school itself, Orley Farm, was a grand guignol horror with a headmaster who flogged the boys till they bled. "Once the headmaster told me to stand up in assembly and in front of the whole school said, 'This boy is so stupid he will not be coming to Christmas games tomorrow.' I have never totally recovered." To relieve his misery and that of the other boys, he not unsurprisingly made up tales of astounding revenge and retribution.


Anthony Horowitz is perhaps the busiest writer in England. He has been writing since the age of eight, and professionally since the age of twenty. He writes in a comfortable shed in his garden for up to ten hours per day. In addition to the highly successful Alex Rider books, he has also written episodes of several popular TV crime series, including Poirot, Murder in Mind, Midsomer Murders and Murder Most Horrid. He has written a television series Foyle's War, which recently aired in the United States, and he has written the libretto of a Broadway musical adapted from Dr. Seuss's book, The 5,000 Fingers of Dr. T. His film script The Gathering has just finished production. And&oh yes&there are more Alex Rider novels in the works. Anthony has also written the Diamond Brothers series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars An excellent collection of classic stories for 9-14, December 6, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Myths and Legends (Story Library) (Paperback)

A lot of classical myths are hard to read and stiff in their telling. These versions are told in modern prose with a sense of humour, without losing the spirit of the original tales. Some schools in New Zealand use this as one of their English texts at about 9th grade level, and it is very popular with kids and teachers. It's a well-thumbed book on our home bookshelf, returned to again and again. Recommended.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Clear and concise., January 17, 2010

By 

Cynthia Atkinson "Shopper Savvy" (Philadelphia, PA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Myths and Legends (Paperback)

My 14 year old daughter needed research on myths and legends; thus this book's title was obvious. As per her review, it was interesting, easy to read and informative. She was able to get all of the information she needed from the book and enjoyed reading it as well. She would definitely recommend it to her peers.

5.0 out of 5 stars Myths and Legends (Red Hot Reads), February 14, 2012

By 

Rawlins Mun Library (Pierre, SD) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Myths and Legends (Red Hot Reads) (Paperback)

We ordered and received the book Myths and Legends (Red Hot Reads) by Anthony Horowitz. This book is a great addition to our library collection. Thank you so much.