Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #54853 in Books
• Published on: 2004-05-06
• Binding: Paperback
• 244 pages

Synopsis
Born into a stern farming family on the island of Keos, Simonides escapes his harsh childhood through a lucky apprenticeship with a renowned Ionian singer. Travelling through fifth century BC Greece, Simonides learn not only how to play the kithara and compose poetry, but also how to navigate the political intrigue surrounding his rich patrons. He is witness to the Persian invasion of Ionia, to the decadent reign of the Samian pirate king Polykrates, and to the flourish and fall of the Pisistratids in the Athenian court. Along the way he encounters artists, statesmen, athletes, thinkers, and lovers, including the likes of Pythagoras and Aischylos. Using the singer's unique perspective, Renault combines her vibrant imagination and her formidable grasp of history to establish a sweeping, resilient vision of a golden century.

From the Publisher
In a masterful novel that vividly recreates the world of Ancient Greece, Mary Renault tells the story of Simonides, an ugly boy destined to create beauty through his extraordinary poetic talent.

About the Author
Mary Renault was educated at Clifton High School, Bristol and St Hugh's College, Oxford. Having completed nursing training in 1937, she then wrote her first novel Promise of Love. Her next three novels were written during off-time duty whilst serving in the war. In 1948 she went to live in South Africa but travelled widely. It was her trip to Greece and her visits to Corinth, Samos, Crete, Delos, Aegina and other islands, as well as to Athens, Sounion and Marathon, that resulted in her brilliant historical reconstructions of Ancient Greece. Mary Renault died in 1983.

Customer Reviews

Elegant, understated power
The least popular of Renault's books? Perhaps, because it may be regarded as the most intelligent (which is saying a lot). It is shot through with a restrained irony which is a long way short of "knowingness". The picture of a Greek civilisation moving gradually from an oral to a literate culture combines with speculation on the artist's relationship with the state in a way that has things to say to us. Also, as always with Renault, it's a very good story.

Another masterful evocation of ancient Greece
If you want a taste of what living in ancient Greece was really like then Renault is the writer to read. In this novel she eschews the heroics of Alexander and Theseus and instead focuses on the little-known epic poet/bard Simonides who sings Homer as he travels around the Greek world. He witnesses great events and introduces us to the people who make things happen, but he himself is content to sing of life rather than drive it.
Perhaps Renault's least popular Greek novel, this is a quiet, subtle book that somehow still manages to haunt you once it's finished. Superb.