“I’ve been a big fan of Pat Barker since her Regeneration trilogy and in this new novel she shows us what a skilful & imaginative writer she is. History is so often told to us through the words and deeds of men, but what of women’s voices? I’ve never read The Iliad but this story of Briseis, the queen given to Achilles as a bed-slave after the murder of her family is enthralling. A clever & engaging re-telling of a classic story.” Bob.
When the Greek Queen Helen is kidnapped by Trojans, the Greeks sail in pursuit, besieging the city of Troy. Trapped in the Greek soldiers’ camp is another captured queen, Briseis. Condemned to be bed-slave to Achilles, the man who butchered her family, she becomes a pawn in a menacing game between bored and frustrated warriors. In the centuries after this most famous war, history will write her off, a footnote in a bloody story scripted by vengeful men – but Briseis has a very different tale to tell… Shorlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction, the Costa Novel Award and the Gordon Burn Prize.
ISBN 9780241983201
