9 h 3 minAudiobook4 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at costPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What happens to the gods when the world no longer needs them?
In The Twilight of the Gods, and Other Tales, Richard Garnett brings ancient pride face to face with change. In the title story, the rise of a new faith leaves the old divinities facing an uncertain place in the world. Their habits and worries become material for dry comedy.
Elsewhere in the collection, figures from Greek and Roman myth, early Christian history and old legend meet life's awkward demands. Philosophers, scholars and men of religion find wisdom colliding with desire or chance. Writing in the tradition of Lucian, Garnett gives these encounters a quiet wit with a dark edge.
What you’ll discover
- Gods with human worries Meet ancient divinities whose pride and habits make their uncertain future sharply comic.
- Wisdom meets ordinary life Watch lofty ideas lose their footing when desire and chance enter the picture.
- A sting beneath the wit Discover dark humour that works quietly, leaving serious questions beneath the joke.
- Old legends, odd situations Find familiar worlds of myth and belief turned toward strange, dryly funny encounters.
- Learning worn lightly Enjoy exact words and balanced sentences that carry irony beneath their calm surface.
Is it for you?
This book suits readers who like irony, myth and brief stories with a sting. It is good for fans of Lucian or Anatole France. If you want long plots and deep psychology, the compact, dry tales may feel slight.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- Old gods make comic characters
- Learning and wisdom are gently mocked
- Dark humor sits under the wit
- A learned writer with a light touch
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Il crepuscolo degli dèi e altri racconti
by Richard Garnett· 1888
Gods and wise men face a world of changing beliefs.
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Language: Italiano
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1 of 4
Old gods make comic characters
Garnett treats the gods of antiquity as beings with habits, pride and worries, much as Lucian did in his dialogues. In the title tale, the rise of a new faith leaves the old divinities facing a world that no longer needs them. Power that once seemed fixed starts to slip, and the gods must decide how to behave about it.
The comedy comes from the gap between their grand titles and their small, human reactions. A god who once ruled thunder or song can be shown as vain, fretful or tired. Garnett does not mock the myths themselves. He mocks the idea that any greatness is safe from change.
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The author
Richard Garnett
1835–1906 · British scholar and writer
British scholar, librarian, biographer and poet.
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What is The Twilight of the Gods and Other Tales about?
It is a set of short satirical stories by Richard Garnett. They use ancient gods, philosophers and legendary figures to joke about pride, belief and change, in a dry and darkly comic tone.
Who was Richard Garnett?
Garnett was a Victorian scholar, poet and biographer who died in 1906. He spent his working life at the British Museum Library, where he rose to be Keeper of Printed Books.
Is The Twilight of the Gods a true story?
No. The tales are fiction. They draw on myth, ancient history and legend, but Garnett invents the situations. He wrote them in the Victorian period as satire rather than as history.
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