To be published 30/03/2032…
Two sisters, princesses of Sparta, as close as sisters can be yet each feeling dwarfed by the shadow the other casts. Helen is the most beautiful woman that Greece has ever seen, so beautiful that some believe her father to be a god. Clytemnestra is the strongest and most cunning of women, a true Spartan and their father’s favourite. These differences will take them down very different paths, but there are two things they will always have in common. Love and pain: the two things that no woman can avoid.
This retelling of this popular myth gives a far greater depth to the character of Clytemnestra than any I have read before. It reveals parts of her story that I was not aware of and gave her a backstory to explain the powerful emotions that drove her terrible actions. Love and loss are powerful motivators and I liked the way that these emotions feed into both her strengths and weaknesses.
There is also a rich cultural backdrop in this book which shows a dedicated level of research from the author. It paints the stark differences between Sparta and the rest of ancient Greece and beyond. This is particularly apparent in their women whose strength and freedom is unrecognised elsewhere. In this context Clytemnestra is a remarkable woman who fights hard to earn and hold onto her power in a society that is constantly working against her. If she makes mistakes along the way then this is to be expected in a world that was not built for people like her.
Escape to the Bookshelf 