The Infernal Marriage

Pluto brings his new bride Proserpine from the plains of Enna to Hades, where royal splendour soon gives way to a quarrel over his beloved watchdog, Cerberus. Benjamin Disraeli turns Roman mythology into domestic and political comedy: the ruler of the underworld worries about household peace, while his bride wonders how she will get along with his alarming relatives. Their exchanges make divine power sound surprisingly like the business of managing a family.

Beyond the palace, Proserpine travels by yacht with Tiresias and Manto through the Stygian mountains toward Elysium. Secret papers, suspicious advisers and carefully chosen courtesies enter this fantastic landscape as naturally as cavern gates and towering Titans. The Infernal Marriage offers readers a novel built around the contrast between grand mythological scenery and familiar human concerns. Its quick dialogue and courtly manoeuvring suit readers interested in satire that brings gods down to everyday scale.