Charles Lamb 
The Adventures of Ulysses 

‘The Adventures of Ulysses’ was written by in 1808 to tell the tale of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ to children. It is a wonderfully well-written and accurate account of the story of Ulysses, and modern readers will be surprised at the sentence structure that the early nineteenth century felt was suitable for children. Today it is a good introduction to the verse version for adults as well as children. 

Lamb re-tells the story of Ulysses’s journey from Troy to his own kingdom of Ithaca. The book uses Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ as the basis for the story, but it isn’t a direct translation of the Greek classic. 



‘The Adventures of Ulysses’ is filled with interesting characters including sirens, giants, warriors and enchanters. Each chapter is filled with new adventures and challenges which Ulysses must face and overcome. Lamb was able to retell the story of Ulysses’s adventures in a light and entertaining way without losing any of the important details of the original story.



Readers who are into Greek mythology and are also looking to read a version of Homer’s ‘Odyssey’ will surely enjoy reading this book.