Mary Renault

Hello from a dark and snow covered white and gray Nottingham,
I wonder if there ar any other people on this list who have either a long standing, or recent, appreciation of Renault's prose?
I particularly like Purposes of Love & The Charioteer, both of which I read years ago, have copies of, and still get into when I want continued enjoyment from such a writer of simple, elegant prose on a number of subjects.

Funny you should post this, I'm most of the way through The Bull from the Sea for the 5th time or something. Reading it on the heels of The King Must Die. Have only read one other of hers - The Persian Boy and really mean to add more, but I always draw a blank when deciding on books.

I have loved Renault's books for several decades. My most favorite is The Mask of Apollo. It's a wonderful story of a Greek actor named Niko who goes on tour through ancient cities. It's a great plot device for putting him in the middle of the action concerning the larger plot of Dion, Plato, and other real-life characters who were busy trying to change the world at that time. There's even a cameo appearance by Alexander the Great.

As I've mentioned elsewhere, I literally read my paperback to pieces and had to replace it with a hardbound copy I found at Goodwill.

Don't you love when that happens, Mary? Sweet.

Bookmarque and MerryMary have identified the ones of hers I read and loved when I was younger. Two others I also liked were The Last of the Wine and Fire from Heaven.

I'd like to return to them at some point.

I always loved The Praise Singer, but then, I've got a thing for stories about writers.

My favorites are Last of the Wine, The Charioteer, and her Alexander series.

There are two things that set The Mask of Apollo apart for me. First is the backstage view of Greek theater. Renault explores the actors' role in worship of the gods, a wide variety of contemporary scripts, and the mechanics of special effects. When I first read this book, I was in college and hanging out with the drama majors. I was fascinated by this aspect - and I still am.

Secondly, the author examines the conflict between idealism and reality. Dion wants only what is best for his city, and strives for perfection. Unfortunately, he cannot see that perfection is not only not possible, but not even desirable to the average citizen. Niko expresses his fears when he tells a friend about hubris. "Dion has been seen to be perfect," he says (paraphrased). "I'm a Greek, and it scares me."

I've been a fan of her writing for many years as well. My favorites are probably The mask of Apollo and The praise singer as well, but I'd agree with the OP that we shouldn't neglect her early novels. Purposes of love is superficially just a doctor-nurse romance, but there's a lot more to it. Not just the lesbian love story in the sub-plot, but also the fascinating discussion of nursing as a serious profession as seen by an educated person who takes it up later in life (both positive and negative aspects). And The Charioteer is an amazing book, of course. Some of the other early books don't stand up to the test of time quite so well, but they're worth a look.

I have loved Mary Renault's books since I was a teen, and my appreciation of her has only grown deeper with time. As a teacher of ancient history I've always been fascinated by historical writers and their attempts to recreate antiquity - not an easy task! Yet, here is this unconventional English woman who somehow manages (in my mind) to get it "right" every time. Truely brilliant!

The Persian Boy was the first of Renault's books I read, and I was entranced by her writing. But it and the others I had, aside from The King Must Die mildewed and had to be discarded. I'll have to get hold of some of the others again.