Mary Renault

Ancient Athens paid tribute to its Cretan overlord each year by sending the finest of its sons and daughters to Crete each year to be trained for "bull-dancing", a sport that cost the Athenian youths their lives. Theseus, prince of Athens, substitutes himself for one of the youths and sails out to meet his fate in the ring.

The King Must Die

This brilliant retelling of the story of Theseus, the king of Athens, brings Greek mythology vividly to life and remains 'one of the truly fine historical novels of modern times' (The New York Times) Theseus is the grandson of the King of Troizen, but his paternity is shrouded in mystery - can he really be the son of the god Poseidon? When he discovers his father's sword beneath a rock, his mother must reveal his true identity: Theseus is the son of Aegeus, King of Athens, and is his only heir. So begins Theseus's perilous journey to his father's palace to claim his birthright, escaping bandits and ritual king sacrifice in Eleusis, to slaying the Minotaur in Crete. Renault reimagines the Theseus myth, creating an original, exciting story. 'Mary Renault's portraits of the ancient world are fierce, complex and eloquent, infused at every turn with her life-long passion for the Classics. Her characters live vividly both in their own time, and in ours' (Madeline Miller, bestselling author of Circe) 'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers' (Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of Wolf Hall)

A Virago Modern Classic

Kirsten Simkiss

I'm a big fan of Greek mythology, but this just could not hold my attention. The writing was stiff and direct, leaving little to get emotionally attached to. It was also very clearly trying to appeal to a male reader, and not a female one, as women were usually referred to either as mother/madonna figures or as sex objects. There was little in between. I decided to give up on trying to read it at just over 20 percent of the book.

Theseus is the grandson of the King of Troizen, but his paternity is shrouded in mystery - can he really be the son of the god Poseidon? When he discovers his father's sword beneath a rock, his mother must reveal his true identity: Theseus is the son of Aegeus, King of Athens, and is his only heir. So begins Theseus's perilous journey to his father's palace to claim his birth right, escaping bandits and ritual king sacrifice in Eleusis, to slaying the Minotaur in Crete. Renault reimagines the Theseus myth, creating an original, exciting story.

Rose Stanley

Shakespeare and Company Year of Reading: September pick (yes, yes, I know I'm a month late)

So we all know I'm trash for Greek mythology by this point, and I liked the fact that this provided a plausible historical retelling of Theseus' life story (you could see how certain aspects of the myth would have emerged as the story was told and retold). Not a fan of all the casual sexism but again this felt very on-brand for Theseus TBH. Well-written and interesting, but I still prefer Ariadne and Circe.

The King Must Die

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