PERHAPS A GIFT VOUCHER FOR MUM?: MOTHER'S DAY
Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of The Amber Fury, which was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize; The Children of Jocasta, a feminist retelling of the Oedipus and Antigone stories; and a non-fiction book about Ancient History, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life. She has written and presented four series of the BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015, she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience. A Thousand Ships is her third novel.
Haynes is the nation's great muse, and her latest retelling of the story of Troy told from the perspective of Helen and the women of The Iliad is beautiful -- Adam Rutherford * The Week * Haynes expertly crafts an emotional and vivid historical tale with high stakes and female empowerment at its core * Woman's Own * If you are new to myths, then this is a learned, well-fashioned introduction, with many shining moments of subtle power * Spectator * Haynes takes the baton from Renault and runs with it. Her modern take on antiquity is exquisitely informed without ever being research-heavy . . . Glorious! -- Damien Barr This subversive reseeing of the classics is a many-layered delight * Guardian * Breathtaking . . . Her writing isn't merely clever, or elegant, or (at times) extremely funny - though it is all of those things. It's also viscerally vivid. -- Catherine Nixey Here, in this treat of a book, the women take centre stage - and how brilliantly . . . Natalie Haynes brings them to witty, lyrical, scintillating life . . . A book to both savour and devour -- Suzannah Lipscomb A joy to read: fast paced, cracking with emotion and tension -- Professor Michael Scott Elegant, intelligent . . . Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative * The Times * The forgotten women are vividly brought to life in this moving, intelligent and witty book -- Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4 Absorbing and fiercely feminist * Guardian * Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories * Telegraph * Natalie Haynes is swiftly becoming this generation's Mary Renault; her retelling of the Trojan war from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships, is her best yet. * Observer * With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War. Her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished -- Madeline Miller, author of <i>Circe</i>
