The noted mythologist discusses the relationship of ancient myths to modern life, including discussions of recent heros, tales of love and marriage, the power of myth, and mythic themes

"Joseph Cornell loved to draw and paint and collect things. With these drawings and paintings and collected treasures, he made marvelous shadowboxes--wonderlands covered in glass. And who did he most like to share them with? Children, of course.

In the summer of 1914, three great empires dominated Europe: Germany, Russia, and Austria-Hungary. Four years later all had vanished in the chaos of World War I. One event precipitated the conflict, and at its heart was a tragic love story. When Austrian heir Archduke Franz Ferdinand married for love against the wishes of the emperor, he and his wife Sophie were humiliated and shunned, yet they remained devoted to each other and to their children....

A comic book adaptation of the novel, followed by an essay.

John Merrick had lived for more than twenty years imprisoned in a body that condemned him to a miserable life in a workhouse and to humiliation as a circus sideshow freak. But beneath that tragic exterior, within the enormous and deformed head, thrived the soul of a poet, the heart of a dreamer, and the longings of a man.