Mary Renault
Books by Mary Renault
“What it does superbly well, and makes it stand out from almost any other historical novel, is the way it recreates not just one ancient culture, but two because you’ve got the Macedonians viewed through the eyes of a Persian. It works. Both are utterly convincing.” Read more...
Historical Fiction Set in the Ancient World
Harry Sidebottom, Classicist
“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
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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: A Novel of Alexander the Great
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 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.
