Cassandra, Princess of Troy
by Hilary Bailey
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Hilary Bailey re-invents the history of the Trojan Wars and tells a new story of Cassandra. Legend has it that Cassandra died at the hand of Clytemnestra, but in this novel she escapes to a farm in Thessaly, and writes her own account of the fall of Troy. On a quiet farm in ancient Greece, an aging widow sits down to write her story. Now that the war is over, and has been for years, and her husband has passed away, and her daughter has married and moved on, she believes it is finally safe to show more write down the truth of who she is: not Iphianissa of Tolos, a Greek, but rather Princess Cassandra, daughter of King Priam, of Troy. Cassandra's story is a retelling of the Trojan War, from the viewpoint of a young girl, sister of Hector and Paris. In her imaginative and vivid novel, Hilary Bailey recounts the tale of the young prophetess whom legend assumed dead: her childhood tutelage by the Oracle at Delphi; her adoration for her handsome older brothers; and, finally, her escape from embattled Troy. Now, ensconced in the Greek countryside under an assumed identity, Cassandra thinks she's safe to tell her story; little does she know, someone from her fraught past has tracked her down, and she discovers that her story is far from over. First published in 1993 and effortlessly weaving together Cassandra's memories of the war with her present life and the secrets she uncovers, Bailey tells the reader a gripping story of war, love, and human sacrifice. show lessTags
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Member Reviews
I suppose I'd better start by saying I'm generally annoyed by writers resorting to elaborate devices to get in first-person narration for their (often historical/mythical, but not always) protagonist, no matter how unlikely that seems—here Bailey needs Cassandra to survive long beyond the defeat and sack of Troy in order to start writing her memoirs twenty years later. After all that elaboration, you might think that it's all going to be Cassandra, but in fact it isn't, we stray into the heads of other people at certain points. I don't think tight first-person or third-person narration is the only way to tell a story, but I certainly find it disappointing when writers go to considerable lengths to find a first-person narrative device, show more but then stray off it.
I didn't think it was possible to write a boring novel about Cassandra and Troy, but ultimately this one was one. show less
I didn't think it was possible to write a boring novel about Cassandra and Troy, but ultimately this one was one. show less
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The Trojan War
109 works; 13 members
Author Information
30+ Works 466 Members
Common Knowledge
- Original title
- Cassandra, Princess of Troy
- People/Characters
- Cassandra; Priam; Helen of Troy; Paris; Hecuba; Clytemnestra (show all 8); Hector; Menelaus
- Important places*
- Troya; Tesalia; Hattusa
- Dedication*
- Para mi hijo Max y the Eagles (1989)
- First words*
- Estoy sentada en la mesa de piedra que hay al lado de casa, con los útiles de escribir; y el viento ya agita ligeramente las hojas del limonero que hay junto a mí.
- Last words*
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Cultivaré mi tierra y escribiré la historia de Troya; luego, cuando haya terminado, quizá vaya a Egipto o Fenicia, para ver si Arvad todavía vive; o iré a cualquier otro sitio que me plazca; cuando mi historia esté contada, al fin seré libre.
*Some information comes from Common Knowledge in other languages. Click "Edit" for more information.
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Statistics
- Members
- 36
- Popularity
- 795,207
- Reviews
- 1
- Rating
- (3.36)
- Languages
- English, Spanish
- Media
- Paper, Ebook
- ISBNs
- 5
- ASINs
- 1
