Author: Elsie Finnimore Buckley

Elsie Finnimore Buckley was an English writer and translator who recast classical material for younger readers. Children of the dawn Old tales of Greece corresponds to her collection Children of the Dawn: Old Tales of Greece, first published in the early twentieth century. The volume retells stories of Oedipus and the Sphinx, Eros and Psyche, Hero and Leander, Alcestis, Echo, Orpheus, Atalanta, and Paris. Buckley presents the myths as connected narratives rather than as a reference handbook, emphasizing character, consequence, and the recurring pressure of fate. Frederick A. Stokes issued an American edition, with an introduction by classical scholar Arthur Sidgwick and illustrations by Frank C. Papé; British editions appeared through Wells Gardner, Darton. Project Gutenberg records Buckley as the author and Sidgwick and Papé as distinct contributors. Her later career included English translations of French historical works. This book shows the earlier side of that practice, making inherited stories accessible while preserving their different tragic, romantic, and heroic tones.