Chander is a History Buff Episode 4

 

Chander is A History Buff Episode 4

Greetings to all readers.

This episode covers the history of an author and a publisher of a book in my shelf aged 124 years since its publication( 1897)! More than that the author is very famous among English Classics readers.

About the book: HOMER – THE ODYSSEY - Ancient Classics for English Readers ,

Edited By The Rev. W. LUCAS COLLINS, M.A.

Published  and Printed by WILLIAM BLACKWOOD AND SONS, Edinburgh and London in 1897.

Contents: Introduction and XI Chapters in 136 pages.

History of Homer : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homer

Homer (/ˈhoʊmər/; Ancient Greek: Ὅμηρος [hómɛːros], Hómēros) was the presumed author of the Iliad and the Odyssey, two epic poems that are the foundational works of ancient Greek literature. 

The Odyssey focuses on the ten-year journey home of Odysseus, king of Ithaca, after the fall of Troy. Many accounts of Homer's life circulated in classical antiquity, the most widespread being that he was a blind bard from Ionia, a region of central coastal Anatolia in present-day Turkey.

Modern scholars consider these accounts legendary. It is generally accepted that the poems were composed at some point around the late eighth or early seventh century BC.

The Homeric epics were the greatest influence on ancient Greek culture and education; to Plato, Homer was simply the one who "has taught Greece" 

The orally transmitted Homeric poems were put into written form at some point between the eighth and sixth centuries BC. Some scholars believe that they were dictated to a scribe by the poet and that our inherited versions of the Iliad and Odyssey were in origin orally-dictated texts.

About the Editor: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Lucas_Collins

Rev William Lucas Collins (baptised 23 May 1815 – 24 March 1887) was a Church of England priest and essayist.

William Lucas Collins was born in 1815 at Oxwich, near Swansea, Glamorgan, south Wales. He was sent to be educated at Rugby School (1829–33) and Jesus College, Oxford (matriculating in 1833, obtaining a BA in Literae Humaniores in 1838 and his MA in 1841).^[1]

He was ordained in 1840 and held the benefice of the parish of Cheriton, Swansea from 1840 until 1867. He also held positions as curate of Great Houghton, Northamptonshire (1853 to 1862), a diocesan inspector of education, rector of St Peter's Church, Lowick (1873 to his death) and vicar of Slipton, Northamptonshire (1876 to his death). He was an honorary Canon of Peterborough Cathedral from 1870. Collins died on 24 March 1887, in Lowick rectory.

About the Publisher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Blackwood

William Blackwood (20 November 1776 – 16 September 1834) was a Scottish publisher who founded the firm of William Blackwood and Sons.

Blackwood was born in Edinburgh on 20 November 1776. At the age of 14 he was apprenticed to a firm of booksellers in Edinburgh, and he followed his calling also in Glasgow and London for several years. Returning to Edinburgh in 1804, he opened a shop in South Bridge Street for the sale of old, rare and curious books. He undertook the Scottish agency for John Murray and other London publishers, and gradually drifted into publishing on his own account.

Homer’s Odyssey contents: Introduction, Penelope and her suitors, Telemachus goes in quest of his father, Ulysses with Calypso and Phaeacians, Ulysses tells his story to Alcinous, The tale continued – The visit to the shades, Ulysses return to Ithaca, The Returrn of Telemachus from Sparta, Ulysses revisits his palace, The day of Retribution, The recognition of Penelope and Concluding remarks.

The complete book is available for online reading. Use the link: https://archive.org/details/homerodyssey00collrich/page/46/mode/2up

 

The epic poem in brief : The Odyssey is Homer's epic of Odysseus' 10-year struggle to return home after the Trojan War. While Odysseus battles mystical creatures and faces the wrath of the gods, his wife Penelope and his son Telemachus stave off suitors vying for Penelope's hand and Ithaca's throne long enough for Odysseus to return. The Odyssey ends as Odysseus wins a contest to prove his identity, slaughters the suitors, and retakes the throne of Ithaca.

 The photos are for the readers viewing pleasure to see the original pages of the 124 years old book. The original owner of the book signed in the opening page in black ink as : Ramanathan, 18^th July 1897, Madtas.

I will return with more history on books, people, art and culture!