A wide-ranging, beautifully illustrated history of mermaids and mermen from the classics to cosplay.
People have been fascinated by merpeople and merfolk since ancient times. From the sirens of Homer’s
Odyssey
to Hans Christian Andersen’s
The Little Mermaid
and the film
Splash
, myths, stories, and legends of half-human, half-fish creatures abound. In modern times “mermaiding” has gained popularity among cosplayers throughout the world. In
Merpeople: A Human History
, Vaughn Scribner traces the long history of mermaids and mermen, taking in a wide variety of sources and using 117 striking images. From film to philosophy, church halls to coffee houses, ancient myth to modern science, Scribner shows that mermaids and tritons are—and always have been—everywhere.