Mythical Beasts - John Cherry
This interesting book is a cross between a bestiary and something else altogether. While it is divided into creatures like a normal bestiary the chapters on each creature are very long.
They focus on the historical origins of the creatures. These discussions are illustrated by fantastic images of paintings or artifacts that demonstrate the point Cherry is making.
So not only do we get to see Cherry’s tracking of the creatures through time, but we also get to see how their depiction changes. The changes and differences on display are both over time and cross-cultural.
I liked this book so much because of the wealth of detail in the origins and stories around these creatures.
I had originally purchased this to aid the development of a TV series I was writing on and the detail and historical accuracy was key for that purpose.
In parts, it does get a bit academic and rambly. If you are keen to see what people thought about Griffins; Dragons; Unicorns; Sphinxes; Centaurs and other half-humans throughout history this is fantastic.
