Atalanta in Calydon

When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces, the wild huntress rises, and a hero rides to his doom.

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About this edition

First published in 1865, Atalanta in Calydon is Algernon Charles Swinburne's dazzling verse tragedy, cast in the form of ancient Greek drama. It retells the myth of the Calydonian boar hunt: the fierce virgin huntress Atalanta, sworn to Artemis, draws first blood from the monstrous beast, and the young prince Meleager, who loves her, awards her the spoils. The gift ignites his kinsmen's wrath and delivers him, by his own mother's hand, to death.

Swinburne's choruses are among the most celebrated lyric passages in English verse, from the rushing joy of "When the hounds of spring are on winter's traces" to the dark hymn "Before the beginning of years." Musical, pagan, and unrelenting, it set the mould for the aesthetic movement and remains a landmark of nineteenth century poetry.

A Lightbound Library edition from Solocosmo Press, fronted by an original cover painting by Jessica von Braun.

Details

• Algernon Charles Swinburne
• Solocosmo Press
• The Lightbound Library
• Paperback and hardcover, 6 × 9, 108 pages