Mary Renaultová

AN ODYSSEY OF ART AND POWER, BY THE CLASSIC QUEEN OF ANCIENT GREEK RETELLINGS'Mary Renault is an exceptional storyteller' CHARLOTTE MENDELSON'A song of praise, a work of love, a serene, deliberate book, full of wisdom, rich in character, incident and description' WALL STREET JOURNALEach generation has its own dream of beauty. I have lived long enough to watch it change. At a local wedding on the isle of Keos, farmer's son Simonides is mesmerised by the performance of a renowned Ionian bard. Simonides' own voice is as beautiful as his appearance is ugly, yet his singing has been confined to hours spent alone in the mountains. But now, seeing a way to a new life, he begs to become the singer's apprentice. Before long, his fame propels him to the heart of classical Greece in fifth century BC - a time of political upheaval, of Athenian tyrants, Persian invaders and pirate kings. As art and power intertwine, Simonides must use all his wit and talent to compete with his flamboyant rival, Anacreon, and keep his songs alive. 'Her characters live vividly in their own time, and in ours' MADELINE MILLER'As a historical novelist witing about the ancient world, Mary Renault has few peers' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW

A VIVID, SWEEPING SAGA OF QUEER LOVE AND POLITICS IN ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION'Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART'Arresting and beautiful and moving . . . decades ahead of its time' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKSYour love made me. Do not take it away; for without love I am a temple forsaken by its godAthens and Sparta, the mighty city states of ancient Greece, have been locked together in conflict for a quarter of a century. Alexias the Athenian comes of age in these turbulent times, as the golden age fractures into uncertainty and chaos. No longer protected by his family's noble status, he is drawn to the controversial teachings of Socrates - and to another of the philosopher's young followers, Lysis. The two young men form a passionate bond, becoming both friends and lovers. Together, they learn to hunt and to love, to debate and to wrestle, to grapple with family and loyalty. But all the while, fate leads Alexias to the moment he must stand alongside Lysis in the last great battle of the Peloponnesian War. 'A remarkable novel, vivid and moving . . . a glowing work of art' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW'Of her Greek fictions, The Last of the Wine [is] her most moving' EMMA DONOGHUE

THE ANCIENT GREEK STAGE BROUGHT THRILLINGLY TO LIFE BY THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION 'Mary Renault has made the classical era alive' GORE VIDAL 'Her books have stood the test of time' INDEPENDENT The artist flows into the mask the poet offers him; only so will the god possess him. Greece, fourth century BC. The golden age of theatre may be over, but Nikeratos still lives and breathes the stage. Finding work with a group of travelling actors, he discovers amongst their dusty props an old, discarded mask of Apollo. When a violent attack threatens the company mid-performance, the actors must go on: once the show ends, they know their lives are at stake. Seized by inspiration, Niko dons the golden mask and feels the powerful words of Apollo coursing through him - spurring the defenders to victory. But Greece is racked by political struggles, and as his fame grows Niko finds himself caught in the crossfire, a pawn in a game of tyrants. And all the while, the mask gains power - becoming his conscience, keeper of his secrets and, ultimately, the maker of his gravest choice.

'One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS'I love to find queer representation in historical fiction . . . Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART'Fierce, complex and eloquent' MADELINE MILLER'Mary Renault is a shining light' HILARY MANTELA groundbreaking queer classic and powerful reimagining of the last years of Alexander the Great, told through the eyes of his lover. I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a king. And, I said to myself, looking after him as he walked away, I will have him, if I die for it. Bagoas, abducted as a boy and sold as a eunuch, has been transported to the heart of the Persian court as courtesan to King Darius. But when the Macedon army conquers his homeland, Bagoas finds freedom at the hands of their golden young commander, whose name is already becoming a legend: Alexander. Their encounter sparks a passionate devotion that shapes the Persian boy's future - and deepens into a relationship that will sustain them both through assassination plots, political intrigue and the threat of Alexander's own restless ambition. This is a spellbinding tale of power, loyalty and loss - a vision of history transfigured by love. 'Nowhere else in fiction have Alexander's beauty and charisma blazed with such potency' TOM HOLLAND 'Passionate and captivating' SEÁN HEWITT'All my sense of the ancient world - its value, its style, the scent of its wars and passions - comes from Mary Renault' EMMA DONOGHUE'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the twentieth century' ANTONIA SENIOR, THE TIMES

'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERSThe heavens say it begins with the death of the King . . . Alexander the Great, conqueror of an empire stretching from Greece to Egypt to India, is dead at the age of thirty-three. His only direct heirs are two unborn sons, and every long-simmering faction is poised to explode into the vacuum of power. As his wives, distant relative and generals vie for the loyalty of the increasingly undisciplined Macedonian army, with fatal results, Alexander's fragile empire is torn to pieces - but his legend will endure across worlds he had only imagined. In the final novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly reimagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend. 'Brilliant and brutal... she has retained her unnerving genius for making the remote past live without diminishing its remoteness and alien glitter' SUNDAY TIMES'Discerning, sure-footed, challenging our values, piquing our curiosity, she leads us through an alien landscape that moves and delights us' HILARY MANTEL'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the twentieth century' ANTONIA SENIOR

'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' Madeline Miller, bestselling author of CirceThe true parentage of Theseus, grandson of the King of Troizon, has always been shrouded in mystery. Rumours swirl that his father is Poseidon himself. But when he learns the truth - that he is the son and heir of Aegeus, King of Athens - Theseus sets out on a quest to claim his birthright. But his journey is a perilous one, from encounters with bandits to marriage to the Queen of Eleusis, whose consort is sacrificed each year - and, finally, to the labyrinthine palace of King Minos on Crete. There Thesues must enlist the help of high priestess Ariadne in a darling plan to slay the Minatour - and free his people. Thrilling, immersive and gorgeously told, Mary Renault's classic novel is a unforgettable reimagining of the timeless Greek myth. 'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers' Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of Wolf Hall'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"' New York Times

'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' Madeline Miller, bestselling author of CirceThe true parentage of Theseus, grandson of the King of Troizon, has always been shrouded in mystery. Rumours swirl that his father is Poseidon himself. But when he learns the truth - that he is the son and heir of Aegeus, King of Athens - Theseus sets out on a quest to claim his birthright. But his journey is a perilous one, from encounters with bandits to marriage to the Queen of Eleusis, whose consort is sacrificed each year - and, finally, to the labyrinthine palace of King Minos on Crete. There Thesues must enlist the help of high priestess Ariadne in a darling plan to slay the Minotaur - and free his people. Thrilling, immersive and gorgeously told, Mary Renault's classic novel is a unforgettable reimagining of the timeless Greek myth. *'Mary Renault is a shining light to both historical novelists and their readers' Hilary Mantel, bestselling author of Wolf Hall'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"' New York Times

Životní příběh mladého řeckého herce, který se zaplete do nepokojů v Syrakusách ve 4. století př. n. l. Hrdina vypráví o svém hereckém růstu, o svých učitelích a posléze o několika významných postavách (mezi nimi o Platónovi), které jej přivedly do boje p