Daughters of Sparta

A Novel

By: Claire Heywood

Narrated by: Mira Dovreni

Length: 10 hrs and 39 mins

Publisher's summary

For millennia, men have told the legend of the woman whose face launched a thousand ships - but now it's time to hear her side of the story. Daughters of Sparta is a tale of secrets, love, and tragedy from the women behind mythology's most devastating war, the infamous Helen and her sister, Klytemnestra.

As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivaled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece. But such privilege comes at a cost. While still only girls, the sisters are separated and married to foreign kings of their father's choosing - Helen remains in Sparta to be betrothed to Menelaos, and Klytemnestra is sent alone to an unfamiliar land to become the wife of the powerful Agamemnon. Yet even as queens, each is only expected to do two things: birth an heir and embody the meek, demure nature that is expected of women.

But when the weight of their husbands' neglect, cruelty, and ambition becomes too heavy to bear, Helen and Klytemnestra must push against the constraints of their society to carve new lives for themselves, and in doing so, make waves that will ripple throughout the next 3,000 years.

Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating reimagining of the Siege of Troy, told through the perspectives of two women whose voices have been ignored for far too long.

©2021 Claire Heywood (P)2021 Penguin Audio

Critic reviews

"Heywood’s wondrous retelling of the lives of two ancient princesses struggling for independence and agency in a patriarchal society resonates deeply in today’s imperfect world. Required reading for fans of Circe, and a remarkable, thrilling debut." (Fiona Davis, New York Times best-selling author of The Lions of Fifth Avenue)

“Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth - not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting!” (Alka Joshi, New York Times best-selling author of The Henna Artist)

Great read

It’s good to read about the other side of the story and the impact the war had on them.

Excellent

I love mythology and this perspective / storytelling was worth the read. Definitely captures the darkness of a lot of the myths while showing the complexity of the characters

Interesting Depiction

these characters have very little agency in the classics. so this perspective is much needed and very interesting.

Interesting perspective on a classic Greek tale.

Well crafted story that held my attention throughout and the reading is very good.

The grueling reality that women of the age had to endure as conveyed by the story and how they had to try to overcome all this.

I loved the prose, the story development and the characters. I enjoyed the glints of progress from some of the male characters that would show decency in a time where macho culture was at its height.

Historical Retelling

I am glad I ignored the reviews about this book. While it may let some people down in terms of being "unfeminist" or for the narrator being "too fast" I think the issue lies in the readers overall capability. I listened to the book on 2.00x , 1.75x. and at 1.50x and found that the best flow was between 1.75 - 2.00.

It give a good historical portrayal of gender roles at that time period. The women themselves are unfortunate if you know the story. However the author and narrator do a great job of giving them depth and allowing you to feel their struggles and how the duty of their time forced them into their respective boxes.

An imaginative novel, well done

Just as the classics about ancient Greece included a gamut of emotions and interesting characters, this novel looks at how the women’s lives might have turned out.

Interesting take on an ancient myth

It was interesting to reimagine the mythology without the interference of Gods and Goddesses.

The narrator does a good job except for the incorrect pronunciation of the Greek names. I am familiar with the correct pronunciation, so it was distracting.

Drauma!!!!

This is a really well written version of a classic story. The writing is great, the pace is super fast! My only regret is that its so depressing, theres no joy all the way through to the end, but I did sign up for a tragedy

loved it!

this was a great retelling! the female perspective was really interesting, for me I especially enjoyed thinking of it in the same universe as Song of Achilles