Historical fiction published by Dutton 18 Jul 23
A.D. Rhine recreates history as told from the viewpoint of the women behind the scenes. Andromache, Prince Hector’s wife-queen in waiting, was trained by the Amazons as a warrior extraordinaire, but her battle strategies were ignored simply because she’s a woman. Rhea, a horse whisperer, enslaved and removed from the only home she knew, is determined to do whatever it takes to find a home in Prince Hector’s stables. Helen, war prize, the face that launched a thousand ships, the untold story behind the scenes. Threading through the historical facts of the Trojan War is the Cassandra’s prophecies, yet another untold story, a cry and a lament. With its skillful blending of history with fiction, the story brings alive the Trojan War and humanizes some of the key figures on both sides.
It’s the common people, the women and children, who are left behind as collateral damage in wars, while the men folk go off to claim glory and die on the battlefields. Through Andromache’s and Rhea’s eyes, we get to meet the allies that had gathered to help defend Troy and the women and children who live a squalid life in the lower levels of the citadel, while the rich still lead their privileged and rarified lives.
Again, through Rhea’s eyes, we get to visit the opposition and get unique insights into some of the fierce leaders and characters who are willing to do what it takes to avenge Helen’s kidnapping. While Hector is the crown prince and a magnificent commander, we see Priam deliberating and letting the council guide him into ill-advised decisions. We see Paris demonstrate his cowardice on the battlefield and his cruelty toward his war prize and his ambitions regarding the throne of Troy. It is inevitable to wonder how things might have been different and who might have won the war, if Hector and Andromache were truly given the chance to lead their kingdom.
The chilling thread of Cassandra’s prophecies are ignored by most, but not the women who see the truth and use it to buy time and space and temporary victories. The end is a foregone conclusion, since it’s written in history, and yet for this microcosm one wonders how things could have been different.
A must read for lovers of ancient history.
Grade: A
Summary:
I know the stories they will tell. I’ve heard the echoes of their songs—songs that will outlive us all. But this song is not theirs. It is mine.
Behind the timeless tale you know is the captivating story you never heard: a sweeping epic in which Troy’s strong, yet misunderstood women take center stage in the most famous war in history.
Andromache is cast as the doting wife of Prince Hector, yet her Amazon warrior name means “battler of men.” The only one with the cunning to outwit the invading Greeks, she must gather a band of outcasts and become the military commander she was born to be before the life she and Hector have built is reduced to ashes. Rhea is a war refugee and a horse whisperer who finally earns a place and sense of belonging in Hector’s stables. To save her new home, she must become an unlikely spy and face down a forbidden love that will test all her loyalties. Helen is blamed by all for starting the Trojan War, but no one knows her real story. To escape her tormentor and foil a plot to undermine Hector, Helen must risk everything by revealing her true face to the one who despises her most.
Set in the wider landscape of the late Bronze Age collapse, this realistic and immersive Troy is a perilous battleground for warriors and politicians alike, not a playground where the fate of men and women make sport for gods and goddesses. It’s a harrowing novel of palace intrigue, the transcendent bond of female friendship, and the everyday bravery of invisible heroes in times of war.
The women of Troy are threads spinning on a single loom. Can they reweave the tapestry of fate?
No excerpt available.
