Helen of Troy by Margaret George

Helen of Troy

by Margaret George

Bestselling author Margaret George brings to life the beguiling tale of Helen of Troy, a pivotal figure in Greek mythology whose beauty ignited the fabled Trojan War.

George uncovers the complexity of Helen's character, as her mortal and divine identities intertwined – flesh and blood certainly, but also immortal, as the daughter of Zeus. Her beauty, is so overwhelming and dangerous that, as a child, she is protected from seeing her reflection. Both enchanting and hazardous, it garnered her the attention of powerful men, leading to unforeseen alliances and monumental adversities.

Kings and princes compete for her hand in marriage. When she falls for Paris of Troy it is assumed that he has taken her by force, when her actions are far more complex. But so the Trojan War begins – the most pivotal event in the history of ancient Greece.

Exploiting meticulous research, Helen of Troy is an intoxicating, tragic and passionate saga of the individuals who shaped ancient Greek history.

‘An epic novel . . . If only history lessons had been like this’ – Cosmopolitan

Reviewed by ladygrey on

2 of 5 stars

Share
I hoped that this would be an intriguing story that adds new depth to the characters and machinations of the Trojan War; that it would take what we already knew and make it interesting, give it depth and conflict and emotion so that it was still interesting. But I didn't feel that [a:Margaret George|3356|Fyodor Dostoevsky|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1251797195p2/3356.jpg] did that at all.

Since [b:Helen of Troy|10114|Helen of Troy|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115554s/10114.jpg|12851] is written from the first person point of view of Helen, she needed to be a compelling woman of intelligence and strength and force of will caught in the tides of love and politics and the gods and that would have been interesting. Unfortunately, [a:Margaret George|3356|Fyodor Dostoevsky|http://photo.goodreads.com/authors/1251797195p2/3356.jpg]'s Helen is nearly as paltry as other accounts have portrayed her, just more detailed.

The love story wasn't strong enough to propel the world into war. I didn't fall in love with Paris and I needed to if I was going to understand why Helen loved him and left her child for him.

The writing, I thought, was almost too simple and straight forward and despite how long the book is I felt it remained always on the surface of the story, skimming over moments and details without depth or weight or intrigue.

Any story of historical fiction that examines a particular moment in time labors under the burden of an audience that already knows how it ends. In order to be worthy of the retelling the story needs to bring something new or exciting to what we know and I don't think [b:Helen of Troy|10114|Helen of Troy|Margaret George|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1166115554s/10114.jpg|12851] managed that.

Last modified on

Reading updates

  • Started reading
  • 1 March, 2010: Finished reading
  • 1 March, 2010: Reviewed