The God Beneath the Sea

Story

Hephaestus, son of Zeus and Hera, is cast down from Mount Olympus as a baby and raised by Thetis, goddess of the sea. But growing up, he wants to know who he is and where he came from, so Thetis begins to tell her tale of Titans and Olympians, betrayal and vengeance.

Why we chose it

Powerful and dark re-tellings of epic Greek stories for older readers.

Where it came from

Authors Leon Garfield and Edmund Blishen have been fascinated by Greek mythology since primary school, and banded together for this retelling in one continuous story. Illustrator Charles Keeping on the other hand had bad memories of boring history lessons, but discovered deeper significance in the myths during the drawing process.

Where it went next

The God Beneath the Sea divided critical opinion upon release. It doesn’t shy away from or sanitise the original stories. Favourable reviews commended its feat of bringing Greek mythology to life for modern readers. Charles Keeping was lauded for his powerful illustrations and was runner-up for the Kate Greenaway Medal, while the author team received the Carnegie Medal.

Associated stories

The authors Garfield and Blishen and illustrator Keeping worked together a second time for a sequel entitled The Golden Shadow, published in 1973.

Leon Garfield is the author of a number of other award winning books for children including Devil in the Fog, John Diamond, Smith and The Strange Affair of Adelaide Harris. He is also known for his collections of Shakespeare stories.

Edmund Blishen is best known for his series of humorous autobiographies.

Charles Keeping is one of the most distinctive illustrators of the 20^th century. He illustrated a number of Rosemary Sutcliffe’s historical novels and a number of classic novels for the Folio society including Wuthering Heights and the complete works of Charles Dickens. He created over twenty striking picture books. He won the Kate Greenaway medal twice, once in 1967 for Charley, Charlotte and the Golden Canary which he also wrote and again in 1981 for his edition of Alfred Noyes’s poem The Highway Man. Other notable picture books he illustrated include The Lady of Shallot by Alfred Lord Tennyson and Beowulf retold by Kevin Crossley Holland.