If you are looking for an exciting, hilarious new novel to read with UKS2 (especially if you would like a nice link to Greek Mythology), then you can’t go far wrong with Bryony Pearce’s new book Hannah Messenger and the Gods of Hockwold. Set in a sleepy English village that is home to the now-retired Gods of Olympus, the story stars Hannah and her friends (descended from various Gods) as they attempt to come to terms with their powers and stop an incredible dangerous foe from gaining control of the source of all Gods powers!
We had the opportunity to read the book prior to release and had a few questions for Bryony which you can read her responses to below…
1) What made you want to write a story about the Greek Gods?
I have always loved world mythology, and as a teen I had dozens of books of different myths and histories. In particular I loved Greek, Nordic and Egyptian myths. My first novel, Angel’s Fury, used Hindu and Christian ideas, my second, The Weight of Souls, used Egyptian gods. The character of Hannah came to me, and I knew she had powers. I had to work out where those powers came from and so I knew the time for the Greek gods had come around.
2) Why did you decide to set the story in a small English village?
I wanted the novel to be funny. One way of writing something funny is to use contrast and the unexpected. It wouldn’t have been funny to have written a book about the Greek gods set in Greece, for example, so I had to think, where is the most unlikely place for a Greek god to retire? The answer was a small English village with a pub, church, hall, village green and so Hockwold-cum-Wilton was perfect for my purposes as it had the two halves (one of which I could make human, the other for the gods), it really has the marker stone with the ram on it (which really is a sign of Zeus), it is not too well known, the name is BRILLIANT and it also has some interesting history that I can play with in later books if I get the chance.
3) I really like the variety of characters in this book. Which one was your favourite to write? Why?
I have a special place in my heart for all of them, but my favourite has to be Hannah, who is struggling with her power, her place in her family and in the world. I had a lot of fun sending her up in the air with her little wings, or into Tartarus to find her grandfather. I also really loved writing the comedy in the novel: the tortoise Dolio, Elsie the dog, and Hermes, who you know is going to get in real trouble if Hannah can’t keep him under control.
4) Will we be seeing more of Hannah Messenger and the other characters from this book?
I really hope so. I have a sequel planned out, which is going to be a lot of fun, but publishing is a business, so whether or not I get to write it, will depend on how many people buy book one. So if you can tell everyone to buy book one, that would be great!
5) There are lots of things in this book I didn’t know about. Did you include so much of Greek myth and legend to encourage children to learn more?
I’d like to say I wrote the book to encourage children to learn, but to be honest, I was thinking less about education and more about how much I love the Greek myths. I figure if I love them, my young readers will too. I’m so pleased however, if someone has gone out to learn more because they loved Hannah! That makes me so happy.
6) Do you think it is still important for children to learn Greek mythology?
Greek myths have a lot to tell us about history and how people viewed the world. From Greek myths we can tell how the Greeks saw themselves and their relationship with the universe, what they thought of as ‘good’ and ‘bad’, how they believed the world came to be. Why does that matter? Because knowing where we come from enables us to work out where we are going.
More than that, the Greek myths have a lot to say about human nature, there is a reason that psychologists have drawn on Greek myths to name complex conditions that we know about and treat now – Narcissism and the Oedipus complex for example. Also Greek myths have survived for thousands of years because they are great stories and reading great stories helps us become better writers. Ultimately the myths are about bringing human values to a chaotic universe and they have an enduring power that is worth learning about.
7) Do you have a favourite Greek God? Who is it? Why?
I have a real soft spot for Apollo, the god of music, healing, poetry and prophecy. Apollo is the most human of the gods, both gifted and unfortunate (particularly in love). Apollo took his job as patron of the arts very seriously and of course that means he would be my personal favourite. That said, I have recently finished writing a young adult retelling of Aphrodite, which is coming out with UCLAN in 2025 and I love the version of Aphrodite that I have created; she is much stronger than you might imagine the goddess of love to be!
8) Which Greek God do you think you are most like?
Let’s be honest, I’d love to say something like Artemis, or Aphrodite, but I’m a mum, so I’d have to say Demeter (the mother of Persephone). She spent little time in Olympus choosing instead to roam the earth in a chariot pulled by, very cool, dragons. When Persephone was kidnapped by Hades, she allowed nothing to grow on earth, making Zeus realise how powerful she was. This forced Hades to release his captive. Basically she’d do anything for her child and I can identify with this.
9) If you could write about another period in history, what would you choose? Why?
I have written a book set in the early 1600s about a girl accused of being a witch, it is not yet published, but I really enjoyed writing it. I did so much fascinating research about witchcraft, witch trials, how we lived in those days, religion, food, farming, language and so on. I also loved the Aztecs and would really like to write a story based in those times, with lots of human sacrifices and evil priests.
10) If you were in charge of our school curriculum, what Greek stories would you have us learn? Why?
The stories of the heroes have so much to teach us, for example the story of Daedalus and Icarus teaches us the value of listening to experts and not overreaching yourself, the story of Hercules is one of persistence in face of overwhelming odds, the story of Orpheus and Eurydice is a love story that almost defeated death and is also about listening to and obeying the rules for your own good. The story of the Trojan War however has it all: love and friendship, heroes and villains, triumph and disaster, how brains are more important than brawn, it has comedy and tragedy.
Following the myths like a map, archaeologists have found what they believe to be Troy, so it likely has some truth in it too! Of course following the Trojan War we also have the Odyssey, wherein Odysseus, the most intelligent Greek has to try make his way home, while being punished by the gods who were on the side of the Trojans. Can his cleverness bring him home, in the face of the god’s displeasure?