Books by Mary Renault
Mary Renault (real name: Eileen Mary Challans) 1905-1983, was a British writer best known for her historical novels set in ancient Greece. Earlier in her career she also wrote bestselling romance novels. She emigrated to South Africa in 1948 so she could more easily live with her partner, Julie Mullard, and never returned to the UK.
“Democracy has fallen and Syracuse is in control of the tyrant, Dionysius, who the people of Syracuse have reluctantly accepted because he is a strong leader who provides resistance against the looming threat of Carthage. But what the novel is really about is an Athenian tragic actor, his pursuit of drama and desire to keep these plays going and reinterpret them. What it does rather interestingly is dramatize creative work within a corrupt power structure, and maybe the ambivalences or the tensions in that, because in Syracuse at that time you couldn’t operate without some degree of approval from the leader.” Read more...
Historical Novels Set During the Classical Era
Ferdia Lennon, Novelist
“This may be up there in my top three novels of all time…It’s told from the point of view of a young boy who is only 16 years old. He’s called Bagoas. He is a courtesan in the Persian court, to King Darius, the hugely powerful leader of the Persian empire at the time. Alexander conquers that great empire and takes Baghdad. Bagoas is now in the hands of the invading army…To use Bagoas as her central character is brilliant because he’s an outsider. Outsider narrators are a wonderful way to bring you, the reader, into the story because they are discovering it on your behalf. He’s been used and abused since he was just a boy. He was sold as a slave. He was castrated. It’s so visceral and so grim. You’re deeply invested in him as a character. You want him to be okay. You want him to be looked after. You don’t want him to have to go through any more grim times. He has considerable antipathy for these people when they first turn up, because he’s been inculcated in the court, but after a while, like the rest of us, he is won over by Alexander’s charisma. You fall in love with Alexander through Bagoas. To write charismatic characters is a really hard thing to do, but my God, she’s good at it. You absolutely feel that Alexander the Great is that incredible, young, charismatic leader that he clearly was. The heartstrings are so pulled when Bagoas falls in love with him…You get all that amazing, epic scenery, and events, and visceral violence, and then you get all the tender stuff as well. It’s a masterpiece of historical fiction.” Read more...
Historical Fiction Set Around the World
Jane Johnson, Historical Novelist
“It’s a story of Athens in the Golden Age. It takes in everything from the latter stages of the Peloponnesian War, which Athens is about to lose. You have the Sicilian expedition, you have the fall of democracy, the trial of Socrates. All of these pivotal moments of Athenian history are captured. Yet it’s also a very personal narrative. It blends the personal and the grand narrative quite seamlessly.” Read more...
Historical Novels Set During the Classical Era
Ferdia Lennon, Novelist
Published in 1956, Renault’s first novel, set in Ancient Greece, was the second of her works to feature male homosexuality as a major theme and became a bestseller among the gay community. Set during the Peloponnesian War, Alexias, a young Athenian from a good family, finds himself in a new adult world where his power and status are undermined by the forces of war. He soon finds himself drawn to the controversial teachings of Socrates. Among Socrates’ followers is Lysis; the two young men form an intimate bond. Renault expertly depicts the intricacies of the Ancient Greek world, conveying the impact of famine and conflict.
From our article Books like The Song of Achilles
“There are quite a lot of novels about Alexander and I think that, of them all, Mary Renault’s is the most readable and the most entertaining. It’s the first of what’s called the Alexander Trilogy, although it’s a slightly odd trilogy and the third volume, Funeral Games takes place after Alexander’s death. Mary Renault really knew her sources. She really understands the material. She has another particular interest and that’s in homosexuality. So, both in Fire from Heaven and in the second volume The Persian Boy, there’s quite a lot of focus on Alexander and male lovers.” Read more...
The best books on Alexander the Great
Hugh Bowden, Historian
Interviews where books by Mary Renault were recommended
Historical Fiction Recommended by Historians
When they’re done well, historical novels are a really exciting way to learn about history, because they combine the emotional involvement of fiction with the narrative of events that took place and details of how life was lived in the past. For that reason, we’re always excited when a historian chooses a work of historical fiction as one of their expert recommendations.
Historical Fiction, recommended by Historians on Five Books
Historical fiction is a wonderful way to learn about history and there has never been a shortage of books written by authors who are able to combine lively imagination, beautiful or pacey writing with a sound knowledge of the primary sources. Here you’ll find our list of all the historical novels recommended by historians on Five Books.
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1
Alexander the Great: The Anabasis and the Indica
by Arrian -
2
The History of Alexander
by Quintus Curtius Rufus -
3
The First European: A History of Alexander in the Age of Empire
by Pierre Briant -
4
The Persian Empire: A Corpus of Sources from the Achaemenid Period
by Amélie Kuhrt -
5
Fire from Heaven
by Mary Renault
The best books on Alexander the Great, recommended by Hugh Bowden
The best books on Alexander the Great, recommended by Hugh Bowden
Alexander the Great never lost a battle and established an empire that stretched from the Mediterranean to the Indian subcontinent. From the earliest times, historians have argued about the nature of his achievements and what his failings were, both as a man and as a political leader. Here, Hugh Bowden, professor of ancient history at King’s College London, chooses five books to help you understand the controversies, the man behind the legends, and why the legends have taken the forms they have.
Historical Novels Set During the Classical Era, recommended by Ferdia Lennon
Though culture, society, and technology were very different in the ancient world, human minds and relationships still functioned in very similar ways, argues Ferdia Lennon—author of Glorious Exploits, set during the Peloponnesian War. Here he recommends five novels set during the Classical era that serve, in their own ways, as mirrors of the present.
Historical Fiction Set Around the World, recommended by Jane Johnson
From Africa to the Middle East to Korea and Japan, there are so many countries you can discover by reading a good historical novel. British novelist and publisher Jane Johnson, several of whose books take place in Morocco at different times in the country’s history, recommends five of her favourite historical novels set around the world.
Historical Fiction Set in the Ancient World, recommended by Harry Sidebottom
The ancient world offers an excellent canvas for historical fiction but too many books fall victim to anachronistic thinking, says Oxford ancient historian Harry Sidebottom, author of two series of historical novels set in Ancient Rome. Here he recommends some of his own favourites, all written during the golden age of classical historical fiction half a century ago.
