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Daughters of Sparta: A tale of secrets, betrayal and revenge from mythology's most vilified women

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There is more going on in this (comparatively) brief quote than I can account for here, but a few noteworthy points as they relate to Daughters of Sparta are as follows. First, obviously, the translations themselves are quite different: Through both the translation and Heywood’s extraction of it from its context, much of the nuance has been stripped out of the source text that has come down to us from antiquity, as evident in “good ones” (meaning women) vs. women “whose acts are virtuous.” It may not seem important, but the latter differentiates between women sum total being bad and bad acts that some women may perform. One thing this may reflect is the recognition of coexisting dualities, especially in Homer but also evident across ancient Greek thought. A particular quality, cunning for example, could be deployed for good or bad ends. Cunning itself is not necessarily inherently either good or bad but can become so through its application. Alternately, rather than morally neutral qualities, the modern Western mind especially (though not exclusively) tends to bifurcate, creating discrete categories for good and bad and then assigning qualities accordingly (honesty and cunning respectively, for example).

Such privilege comes at a high price, though, and their destinies are not theirs to command. While still only girls they are separated and married off to legendary foreign kings Agamemnon and Menelaos, never to meet again. Their duty is now to give birth to the heirs society demands and be the meek, submissive queens their men expect.Heywood's wondrous retelling of the lives of two ancient princesses struggling for independence and agency in a patriarchal society resonates deeply in today's imperfect world. Required reading for fans of Circe, and a remarkable, thrilling debut.' Access-restricted-item true Addeddate 2022-12-12 15:09:59 Autocrop_version 0.0.14_books-20220331-0.2 Bookplateleaf 0002 Boxid IA40793905 Camera USB PTP Class Camera Collection_set printdisabled External-identifier Daphne is the main heroine of this story. I liked Daphne’s spirit and loyalty to her family and country. She is tasked with finding nine items that were stolen from Olympus. If she fails, the powers of the gods will disappear, and the mortal world would be thrown into chaos! She never gives up and perseveres even when the road gets tough.

Content Warnings: Fantasy violence throughout (some graphic); torture with a branding iron; some kissing; at least 1 use of the s-word.* Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth - not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting! Required reading for fans of Circe . . . a remarkable, thrilling debut‘– Fiona Davis, New York Times bestselling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue The romance does NOT take center stage in this book. This is not a romance book. The romance is there, but I think I was really expecting more of it. But there are definitely a few romantic moments sprinkled throughout, and I did enjoy the banter when it was there! I’m hoping there will be more in the sequel. But when the weight of their husbands' neglect, cruelty and ambition becomes too heavy to bear, they must push against the constraints of their sex to carve new lives for themselves - and in doing so make waves that will ripple throughout the next three thousand years.By the end, there are several questions left unanswered. There’s one question in particular that I really would’ve liked to know the answer to by the end of book one, but I suppose it’s going to have to wait until book two.

Helen remains in Sparta to be betrothed to Menelaos, and Klytemnestra is sent alone to an unfamiliar land to become the wife of the powerful Agamemnon. Yet even as Queens, each is only expected to do two things: birth an heir and embody the meek, demure nature that is expected of women. For millennia, two women have been blamed for the fall of a mighty civilisation - but now it's time to hear their side of the story . . . I also like that Agamemnon blames the gods for his/men’s actions, but thinks women are entirely responsible for them. Ugh. That also feels to me like a sentiment that rings down through the ages and has kept women oppressed in so many cultures and so many contexts. Seventeen-year-old Daphne has spent her entire life honing her body and mind into that of a warrior, hoping to be accepted by the unyielding people of ancient Sparta. But an unexpected encounter with the goddess Artemis—who holds Daphne’s brother’s fate in her hands—upends the life she’s worked so hard to build. Nine mysterious items have been stolen from Mount Olympus and if Daphne cannot find them, the gods’ waning powers will fade away, the mortal world will descend into chaos, and her brother’s life will be forfeit. I’m always up for a juicy retelling of classical myth, and this seems to be something of a golden age for the genre, with the Trojan War occupying pride of place. In just the last decade alone we’ve had numerous reinterpretations of that pivotal conflict of ancient myth, ranging from Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles to Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls (and its sequel The Women of Troy ) to Natalie Haynes’ A Thousand Ships and, most recently, Claire Heywood’s Daughters of Sparta.This book didn’t quite have what I call the 5-star oomph factor, but it was still a solid 4-star read for me! Overall, I quite enjoyed reading this, and I definitely intend to read the sequel Blood of Troy! If you’re a fan of Greek mythology, I definitely recommend this one. Happy reading 🙂 Flatlay of the hardcover edition of Daughter of Sparta next to a teapot and tea dish with a wolf design painted on it. Book Review The book focuses exclusively on Helen and Klytemnestra’s points of view. Because this focus meant the majority of the story was internal monologue of the women’s thoughts and feelings about their experiences, the third person narrative felt jarring, as compared to the intimacy of first person. I wondered if the intention was to bestow a sense of universality on these two women’s experiences. If so, it didn’t quite work. Heywood’s tendency to project modern worldviews and resentments into the past amplified the disconnect between narrative style and characters. It also felt reductive, as it stripped the myths and the various ways they were told across antiquity of their complexities, paradoxes, and ambivalent meanings. Perfect for readers of Circe and Ariadne, Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating retelling of the Siege of Troy that tells the story of mythology's most vilified women from their own mouths at long last. Author Claire Heywood has written a great new historical fiction novel centered on the women known as Helen Of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra…If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this is right up your alley.” —Red Carpet Crash

As its title implies, Heywood’s book focuses on two daughters of the Spartan monarchs, Helen and Klytemnestra. Though they are both born into wealth and prestige, they soon take very different live paths. Klytemnestra, though originally the heir to her father’s throne, is instead married to Agamemnon, newly-crowned king of Mycenae. Neither of them, however, find much happiness. All this is to say, Agamemnon’s claims about women in the speech Heywood pulls from are not coming from a reliable narrator. Odysseus’ response to Agamemnon is revelatory. He notes that the “schemes of women” are vehicles through which Zeus’ will is accomplished. If Agamemnon is not to blame for his bad acts because they were willed by the gods (as he claims in the Iliad), then why should he blame Klytemnestra for her bad acts? Would not they, too, be the will of the gods? Again, those who know Trojan war myth will know that the Trojan and Theban wars were, according to Hesiod, how Zeus chose to bring the Age of Heroes to an end. In this context, could Agamemnon blaming not only Klytemnestra but all women be seen as somewhat impious, a denial of how the gods work their will through humans? Agamemnon has also been known to compare himself to Zeus ( Iliad 19.95), and his ancestors’ impiety has caused the entire family line to be cursed (as alluded by Odysseus). An angry, powerful book seething with love and outrage for a community too often stereotyped or ignored. If you love epic books about Greek mythology and the often misunderstood or misinterpreted women within these tales, Daughters of Sparta should be right at the top of your reading list. It's a vividly written and compelling retelling that brings the Spartan princesses to life with all the human fortitude and foibles you'd expect from flesh and blood people. I'm already impatiently awaiting the reveal of the next set of female perspectives from the ancient world that Claire Heywood will be writing about in her second novel. As it is the presented, the quote seems to express the view of “Homer” in “the Odyssey.” But the quote is so decontextualized and chopped up as to be denuded of its meaning. If you’ve read the Odyssey, you might recall that the above words appear in book eleven as part of a speech by Agamemnon delivered post-mortem, from Hades, as he explains to Odysseus how he died.

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Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth - not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting!' - Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist

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