A Thousand Ships

Description

Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2020

One of the Guardian’s ‘Best Books of 2019’

‘With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War’ Madeline Miller, author of Circe

In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective, for fans of Madeline Miller and Pat Barker.

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of all of them. . .

In the middle of the night, Creusa wakes to find her beloved Troy engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of brutal conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over, and the Greeks are victorious.

The devastating consequences of the Trojan War stretch from Mount Olympus to Mount Ida, from the citadel of Troy to the distant Greek islands, and across oceans and sky in between. These are the stories of the women embroiled in that legendary war and its terrible aftermath, as well as the feud and the fatal decisions that started it all. . .

Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, in A Thousand Ships Natalie Haynes gives voices to the women, girls and goddesses who, for so long, have been silent.

Author Information

Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of The Amber Fury, which was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize; The Children of Jocasta, a feminist retelling of the Oedipus and Antigone stories; and a non-fiction book about Ancient History, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life. She has written and presented four series of the BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015, she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience. A Thousand Ships is her third novel.