I had never read anything by Margaret George until this book and I have to say, I am seriously impressed.
I found this book while I was out searching for something to read at a nearby booksale (three for R100 and this was one of them) and I loved it.
Margaret takes the myth of Helen and weaves it into a story of love, war, passion and forgiveness. It is a stunning novel and I am amazed at how anyone could write anything like it!
We experience young Helen’s discovery of her divine origin and terrifying beauty, all told in her own voice. She remains shielded from the eyes of strangers until she is of marriageable age and then at only 15 kings and princes compete for her hand in marriage. She weds Menelaus and settles into a life of apparent contentment and bears him a daughter. But when she sets eyes on Paris from Troy, she realises the passion and love that has been missing in her own marriage and they elope to Troy. The rest of the novel is how the Trojan War began and how it ended.
It is a beautiful novel and if you are interested in historical novels, I urge you to read this.
(and if any of you, have read it, let me know what you thought!)
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