Books like 'The Praise Singer'
Readers who enjoyed The Praise Singer by Mary Renault also liked the following books featuring the same tropes, story themes, relationship dynamics and character types.
historical fantasy 20th century europe south-east-europe greece historical-fiction myths classics lgbtq
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D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire, Edgar Parin d'Aulaire
Rated: 4.40 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsHere are the gods, goddesses, and legendary figures of ancient Greece--mighty Zeus, with his fistful of thunderbolts; gray-eyed Athena, goddess of wisdom; Helios, the sun; greedy King Midas--lavishly depicted by Caldecott winners Ingri and Edgar Parin d'Aulaire... -
![Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield]()
Gates of Fire by Steven Pressfield
Rated: 4.39 of 5 stars · 41 ratingsAt Thermopylae, a rocky mountain pass in northern Greece, the feared and admired Spartan soldiers stood three hundred strong. Theirs was a suicide mission, to hold the pass against the invading millions of the mighty Persian army.Day after bloody day they withstood the terrible onslaught, buying time for the Greeks to rally their forces...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics europe greece historical-fiction myths south-east-europe 20th-century -
![Aztec by Gary Jennings]()
Aztec by Gary Jennings
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 25 ratingsAztec is the extraordinary story of the last and greatest native civilization of North America... -
![The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks]()
The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony by Roberto Calasso, Tim Parks
Rated: 4.29 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsPresenting the stories of Zeus and Europa, Theseus and Ariadne, the birth of Athens and the fall of Troy, in all their variants, Calasso also uncovers the distant origins of secrets and tragedy, virginity, and rape. "A perfect work like no other. (Calasso) has re-created . . . the morning of our world."--Gore Vidal. 15 engravings...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction literary-fiction myths 20th-century adult book -
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![രണ്ടാമൂഴം | Randamoozham by M.T. Vasudevan Nair]()
രണ്ടാമൂഴം | Randamoozham by M.T. Vasudevan Nair
Rated: 4.27 of 5 stars · 33 ratingsRandamoozham is the masterpiece of Jnanpith winning writer M. T. Vasudevan Nair. It was translated into English as Second Turn in 1997. M. T. Vasudevan Nair won Vayalar Award, given for the best literary work in Malayalam, for the novel in 1985. Later, in the year 1995, Mr. Nair was awarded the highest literary award in India, Jnanpith Award, for his overall contribution to Malayalam literature... -
![The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges, George Guidall]()
The Garden of Forking Paths by Jorge Luis Borges, George Guidall
Rated: 4.22 of 5 stars · 18 ratings"The Garden of Forking Paths" (original Spanish title: "El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan") is the title story in the collection El jardín de senderos que se bifurcan (1941), which was republished in its entirety in Ficciones (Fictions) in 1944... -
![The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges]()
The House of Asterion by Jorge Luis Borges
Rated: 4.50 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOne of Borges's shortest stories, The House of Asterion was written over a period of two days. The story explores themes of death, redemption, and the nature of monstrosity. Its narrative style has been referred to as a "literary puzzle", with the narrator's identity not fully revealed until the end of the story... -
![The Garden of the Departed Cats by Bilge Karasu]()
The Garden of the Departed Cats by Bilge Karasu
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsIn an ancient Mediterranean city, a tradition is maintained: every ten years an archaic game of human chess is staged, the players (visitors versus locals) bearing weapons. This archaic game, the central event of The Garden of the Departed Cats, may prove as fatal as the deadly attraction our narrator feels for the local man who is the Vizier, or Captain, of the home team...Categorized as:
historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
![Ken Follett Epic Historical Collection by Ken Follett, Joachim Kerzel]()
Ken Follett Epic Historical Collection by Ken Follett, Joachim Kerzel
Rated: 4.30 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsEpic Historical Collection Ken Follett Dive into the #1 New York Times bestselling author's masterpiece of medieval drama, The Pillars of the Earth, and its long-awaited sequel, World Without End... -
![Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke]()
Sonnets to Orpheus by Rainer Maria Rilke
Rated: 4.28 of 5 stars · 27 ratingsTo Rilke himself the Sonnets to Orpheus were "perhaps the most mysterious in the way they came up and entrusted themselves to me, the most enigmatic dictation I have ever held through and achieved; the whole first part was written down in a single breathless act of obedience, between the 2nd and 5th of February, without one word being doubtful or having to be changed." With facing-page German... -
![Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa]()
Hell Screen by Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 12 ratings"There can be no doubt that Akutagawa had more individuality than any other writer of his time and has left in Japanese literature a mass of artistic work, often grotesque and curious, that, while it undoubtedly angers the proletarian experimenters who now hold the stage and fight with lusty pens and a highly developed class consciousness against all that he stood for, will continue to live as...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult anthologies dark fiction -
![The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig]()
The Collected Stories of Stefan Zweig by Stefan Zweig
Rated: 4.43 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsThe collected stories of Stefan Zweig, one of the most popular writers of short fiction of the twentieth century This collection brings together twenty-three of Stefan Zweig's best-loved short stories. Written in his typically flowing and readable style, these tales are characterised by their pacing, their psychological insightfulness, and above all their pervading humanity...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction fiction 20th-century anthologies psychological fantasy historical -
![Tales from Ovid by Ovid]()
Tales from Ovid by Ovid
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsWhen Michael Hofmann and James Lasdun's ground-breaking anthology After Ovid (also Faber) was published in 1995, Hughes's three contributions to the collective effort were nominated by most critics as outstanding...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics literary-fiction myths 20th-century adult audiobook book -
![The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad]()
The Atlas of Middle-Earth by Karen Wynn Fonstad
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 35 ratingsKaren Wynn Fonstad's THE ATLAS OF MIDDLE-EARTH is an essential volume that will enchant all Tolkien fans. Here is the definitive guide to the geography of Middle-earth, from its founding in the Elder Days through the Third Age, including the journeys of Bilbo, Frodo, and the Fellowship of the Ring...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction myths 20th-century action-adventure anthologies epic female-author -
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![The Deer and the Cauldron: The First Book by Jin Yong]()
The Deer and the Cauldron: The First Book by Jin Yong
Rated: 4.33 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsOn the Dragon Throne of China sits the young Manchu Emperor Kang Xi. Back in 1644, his great-uncle Dorgon broke through the Great Wall from Manchuria in the north-east and took the Imperial capital, Peking. Now twenty years later, the Manchus are quelling the last sparks of Chinese resistance, hounding down members of the underground movement known as the Triad Secret Society... -
![Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright]()
Islandia by Austin Tappan Wright
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAustin Tappan Wright left the world a wholly unsuspected legacy. After he died in a tragic accident, among this distinguished legal scholar's papers were found thousands of pages devoted to a staggering feat of literary creationa detailed history of an imagined country complete with geography, genealogy, literature, language and culture. As detailed as J.R.R...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book cozy -
![Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various]()
Russian Short Stories from Pushkin to Buida by Robert Chandler, Various
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsFrom the reign of the Tsars in the early 19th century to the collapse of the Soviet Union and beyond, the short story has long occupied a central place in Russian culture... -
![The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict by Calvin Miller]()
The Singer: A Classic Retelling of Cosmic Conflict by Calvin Miller
Rated: 4.20 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsThe Singer quickly became a favorite of evangelists, pastors, artists, students, teachers and readers of all sorts when it was originally published in 1975... -
![The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi]()
The Dictionary of Imaginary Places: The Newly Updated and Expanded Classic by Alberto Manguel, Gianni Guadalupi
Rated: 4.26 of 5 stars · 20 ratingsFrom Atlantis to Xanadu and beyond, this Baedeker of make-believe takes readers on a tour of more than 1,200 realms invented by storytellers from Homer's day to our own. Here you will find Shangri-La and El Dorado; Utopia and Middle Earth; Wonderland and Freedonia. Here too are Jurassic Park, Salman Rushdie's Sea of Stories, and the fabulous world of Harry Potter... -
![The Book of Devices by İhsan Oktay Anar]()
The Book of Devices by İhsan Oktay Anar
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 16 ratings"He had sought to be the agent of all forces and actions on the Earth, and thus, just as he had transformed iron ingot into a music box, so had he strived to transform the Earth and all it contained into a machine." Ihsan Oktay Anar's 1996 novella, "The Book of Devices," is a skeleton key to the ever-inventive author's fictional world set in the Ottoman times...Categorized as:
historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book fiction historical fantasy -
![Miss Christina: An Erotic Vampire Novella by Mircea Eliade]()
Miss Christina: An Erotic Vampire Novella by Mircea Eliade
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 18 ratingsMiss Christina stood there, very close to him, with her breasts uncovered, her hair loose, waiting. “Egor, you’re humiliating me!” he could hear her thoughts. “Turn off the lamp, come closer!” Egor tried in vain to resist. He could feel Miss Christina’s command in his brain, he could feel her poisonous calling in his blood. “If she kisses me I’m lost,” he thought... -
![Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić]()
Dictionary of the Khazars by Milorad Pavić
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA national bestseller, Dictionary of the Khazars was cited by The New York Times Book Review as one of the best books of the year...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction romantic-love 20th-century action-adventure adult book -
![A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys]()
A Glastonbury Romance by John Cowper Powys
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFirst published in 1932, here is John Cowper Powys's masterwork, an epic novel of terrific cumulative force and lyrical intensity...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction myths 20th-century adult arthurian book -
![The Holly Groweth Green by Amy Rae Durreson]()
The Holly Groweth Green by Amy Rae Durreson
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsIt’s Christmas 1946 and wounded doctor Laurence is struggling to find a way to live during peacetime. Lost in the Hampshire countryside on a snowy Christmas Eve, Laurence stumbles across lonely Mistletoe Cottage and its owner: Avery. Avery is bright and beautiful, welcoming Laurence to his home with warmth and joy. But Laurence can’t stay forever, and Avery’s secrets mean he can never leave... -
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![Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, Aleksandr Afanasyev]()
Russian Magic Tales from Pushkin to Platonov by Robert Chandler, Aleksandr Afanasyev
Rated: 4.17 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsFor fans of fairy tales and the literary supernatural: a unique collection of Russian short stories from the last 200 years In these folk tales, young women go on long and perilous quests, wicked stepmothers turn children into geese, and tsars ask dangerous riddles, with help or hindrance from magical dolls, cannibal witches, talking skulls, stolen wives, and brothers disguised as wise birds...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction myths 20th-century action-adventure adult anthologies fairy-tale -
![Helen in Egypt by H.D.]()
Helen in Egypt by H.D.
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe fabulous beauty of Helen of Troy is legendary. But some say that Helen was never in Troy, that she had been conveyed by Zeus to Egypt, and that Greeks and Trojans alike fought for an illusion. A fifty-line fragment by the poet Stesichorus of Sicily (c. 640-555 B.C.), what survives of his Pallinode, tells us almost all we know of this other Helen, and from it H. D. wove her book-length poem... -
![The White Deer by James Thurber]()
The White Deer by James Thurber
Rated: 4.13 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsHere is a Thurber world of enchanted deer and seven-headed dragons, of wizards and witches, of riddles and spells, of false love and true. It is the story of a beautiful princess, transformed from a deer, who assigns each of three princes a perilous labor to perform in order to win her hand. Drawings by the Author... -
![The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves]()
The Golden Fleece by Robert Graves
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsAlong with I, Claudius, The Golden Fleece is considered one of Robert Graves's most exciting and transporting historical novels. The Golden Fleece was at one time the most sacred religious object of the ancient Greeks, and had been sent away as the result of a power struggle between the Greeks and earlier inhabitants of the Greek peninsula... -
![Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym]()
Ka by Roberto Calasso, Els van der Pluym
Rated: 4.10 of 5 stars · 10 ratingsWith The Marriage of Cadmus and Harmony, Calasso turned ancient legends into modern literature and created a postmodern novel out of the ancient myths of classical Greece...in Ka, Calasso attempts to do the same with the far more sprawling and elusive corpus of classical Sanskritt literature...The result is a book as brilliantly original as anything I have ever read on Hinduism.. -
![The Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard]()
The Garden of Time by J.G. Ballard
Rated: 4.07 of 5 stars · 14 ratings...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction historical-fiction fantasy fiction dystopia politics magical-realism -
![The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green]()
The Adventures of Robin Hood by Roger Lancelyn Green
Rated: 4.04 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsRobin Hood is champion of the poor and oppressed by 12th-century England against the cruel power of Prince John and the brutal Sheriff of Nottingham. He takes refuge with his Merrie Men in the vast Sherwood Forest, emerging time and again to outwit his enemies with daring and panache. This book presents the story of social justice and cunning... -
![Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz]()
Arabian Nights and Days by Naguib Mahfouz
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 29 ratingsA renowned Nobel Prize-winning novelist refashions the classic tales of Scheherazade in his own imaginative, spellbinding style. Here are genies and flying carpets, Aladdin and Sinbad, Ali Baba, and many other familiar stories, made new by the magical pen of the acknowledged dean of Arabic letters... -
![Sinuhé, el egipcio I by Mika Waltari]()
Sinuhé, el egipcio I by Mika Waltari
Rated: 4.19 of 5 stars · 16 ratingsTranslated by Naomi...Categorized as:
historical-fiction classics myths ancient-civilization africa northern-africa egypt fiction -
![The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff]()
The Lantern Bearers by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rated: 4.11 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThe Romans have abandoned Britain, leaving it open to the twin threats of civil war and Saxon invasion. When his home and all he loves are destroyed, Aquila endures years of torment before deciding to put some meaning back into his life... -
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![The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis]()
The Odyssey: A Modern Sequel by Nikos Kazantzakis
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 11 ratingsA continuation of Homer’s epic poem, Kazantzakis’s own Odyssey finds Odysseus once again leaving Ithaca on finding that the satisfactions of home and hearth are not as he remembered them... -
![The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault]()
The Bull from the Sea by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.09 of 5 stars · 26 ratingsIn this sequel to The King Must Die Theseus defies the Gods’ and claims the throne of Athens a move that culminates in the terrible, fateful destruction of the house of Minos -- the Minotaur...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction mlm myths romantic-love -
![The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault]()
The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault
Rated: 4.06 of 5 stars · 30 ratingsIn The Last of the Wine, two young Athenians, Alexias and Lysis, compete in the palaestra, journey to the Olympic games, fight in the wars against Sparta, and study under Socrates. As their relationship develops, Renault expertly conveys Greek culture, showing the impact of this supreme philosopher whose influence spans epochs...Categorized as:
ancient-civilization classics historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction mlm myths 20th-century -
![Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff]()
Sword at Sunset by Rosemary Sutcliff
Rated: 4.08 of 5 stars · 24 ratingsThis brilliant reconception of the Arthurian epic cuts through the familiar myths and tells the story of the real King Arthur: Artos the Bear, the mighty warrior-king who saved the last lights of Western civilization when the barbarian darkness descended in the fifth century...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction lgbtq literary-fiction myths 20th-century action-adventure arthurian -
![Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami]()
Damascus Nights by Rafik Schami
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsRafik Schami's award-winning novel. In the classical Arab tradition of tale-telling, here is a magical book that celebrates the power of storytelling, delightfully transformed for modern sensibilities by an award-winning author. The time is present-day Damascus, and Salim the coachman, the city's most famous storyteller, is mysteriously struck dumb...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure adult book fiction -
![L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel]()
L'Enchanteur by René Barjavel
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 14 ratingsQui ne connaît pas Merlin ? Il se joue du temps qui passe, reste jeune et beau, vif et moqueur, tendre, pour tout dire Enchanteur... -
![The Sibyl by Pär Lagerkvist]()
The Sibyl by Pär Lagerkvist
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 12 ratings4 K- Blackstone Exclusive This Nobel Prize-winning author here explores the meaning of divine and human love, through the characters of a wandering Jew and a sibyl of Delphi. This is a remarkable book...Lagerkvist has written a disturbing and fearful fable about human and divine love, and about the glories and disasters of both...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction myths 20th-century action-adventure adult audiobook -
![An Encyclopedia of Tolkien by David Day]()
An Encyclopedia of Tolkien by David Day
Rated: 4.25 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsA comprehensive, illustrated guide to the history, lands, and inhabitants of Middle-earth. The fantasy world of J. R. R. Tolkien’s Middle-earth contains a rich assortment of people, cities, and creatures—as well as a deep, intertwined history that spans thousands of years... -
![The Swedish Cavalier by Leo Perutz, J. Maxwell Brownjohn]()
The Swedish Cavalier by Leo Perutz, J. Maxwell Brownjohn
Rated: 4.14 of 5 stars · 13 ratingsMuch admired by such disparate writers as Ian Fleming, Jorge Luis Borges, Italo Calvino, and Graham Greene, Leo Perutz has won international recognition as a master storyteller and "a great modern writer" ( Philadelphia Inquirer)...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book fiction historical -
![Allan and the Holy Flower by H. Rider Haggard]()
Allan and the Holy Flower by H. Rider Haggard
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsAllan and the Holy Flower is a 1915 novel by H. Rider Haggard featuring Allan Quatermain. It first appeared serialised in The Windsor Magazine from issue 228 to 239, illustrated by Maurice Greiffenhagen, and in New Story Magazine from December 1913 through June 1914.Brother John, who has been living in Africa for many years, gives Allan Quatermain the largest orchid he has ever seen...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century action-adventure audiobook book fiction -
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![Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa]()
Once and Forever: The Tales of Kenji Miyazawa by Kenji Miyazawa
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 8 ratingsThe magic of Miyazawa's tales reaches out to people of all ages and lands. The sophisticated reader can savor them consciously as literature, while the younger reader can delight in them as imaginative stories that comment on and deepen his own experience. The underlying themes are universal, but the forms and treatment can be appreciated at many levels and vary subtly from piece to piece...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction myths 20th-century adult animals anthologies -
![Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics by Bliss Carman]()
Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics by Bliss Carman
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsSappho One Hundred Lyrics: Large Print By Bliss Carman Sappho: One Hundred Lyrics is a book of poetry by Canadian poet Bliss Carman. It was first printed in 1904 in Boston by L.C. Page. Carman's cousin, and fellow Canadian poet, Charles G.D. Roberts wrote an introductory essay, "The Poetry of Sappho... -
![Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany]()
Time and the Gods by Lord Dunsany
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsThis omnibus contains all the stories from Dunsany's earlier collections: Time and the Gods, The Sword of Welleran and Other Stories, A Dreamer's Tales, The Book of Wonder, The Last Book of Wonder, and The Gods of Pegāna...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction myths 20th-century adult anthologies cosmic-horror fiction -
![Madwomen: The Locas Mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral by Gabriela Mistral]()
Madwomen: The Locas Mujeres Poems of Gabriela Mistral by Gabriela Mistral
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsA schoolteacher whose poetry catapulted her to early fame in her native Chile and an international diplomat whose boundary-defying sexuality still challenges scholars, Gabriela Mistral (1889OCo1957) is one of the most important and enigmatic figures in Latin American literature of the last century... -
![I Burn Paris by Bruno Jasieński]()
I Burn Paris by Bruno Jasieński
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratings"This is a superb text of astonishing modernity, a veritable manifesto of the wretched of the earth ..."— MarianneBruno Jasienski’s I Burn Paris has remained one of Poland’s most uncomfortable masterstrokes of literature since its initial and controversial serialization in 1928 in the French magazine L’Humanité (for which Jasienski was deported)...Categorized as:
classics historical-fiction literary-fiction 20th-century adult book dystopia epidemy -
![Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome]()
Old Peter's Russian Tales by Arthur Ransome
Rated: 4.00 of 5 stars · 6 ratingsArthur Ransome's masterly retelling of the beautiful fairy tales of old Russia was his first book for children. Generation after generation has thrilled to the story of Baba Yaga, the witch with iron teeth; the tale of the Little Daughter of the Snow, who melted for lack of love, and many others...Categorized as:
classics literary-fiction myths 20th-century book children children-books fairy-tale
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