Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan War - Softcover

McLaren, Clemence

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0689873972 ISBN 13: 9780689873973

Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2004

Synopsis

Two women, one war.
Helen, at age twelve, is not prepared to deal with her famous beauty: to have the face that will launch a thousand ships, kill fifty thousand men, and cause the fall of the world's greatest city. But when she is kidnapped by Theseus of Athens, she begins her journey into womanhood and finds passion strong enough to start the Trojan War.
Cassandra has the gift, or curse, to predict the future. When she forsees the ruin of her family and city that Helen's arrival in Troy will cause, she is outraged. Yet she cannot help being drawn to Helen.
As the war rages around them, Helen, the woman who started the conflict, and Cassandra, the one who foresaw it, develop a deep friendship. And through their eyes we see the Trojan War in a fascinating new way.

About this title

From the Inside Flap:

owned as the most beautiful woman in the world. Her divine beauty will lead her to a lifetime of adventure--from her kidnapping at age 12, through an arranged marriage, to a passionate affair that will ultimately bring about the Trojan War.

Cassandra, the sister of Helen's true love, has the gift, or curse, to predict the future. When she foresees the ruin of her family and city, caused by Helen's arrival in Troy, she is outraged. Yet Cassandra cannot help being drawn to Helen, and as the war rages around them, the two young women develop a deep friendship.

Through their eyes, the classic tale of the Trojan War is retold in an immediate and fascinating way.

From School Library Journal:

Grade 8-10?What was it like to be the beauteous Helen of Troy, or to be Cassandra, the unappreciated visionary? This novel tries to offer some answers. It begins in the mind of 12-year-old Helen, abducted (but chastely treated) by Theseus, sought after by a dozen contentious suitors, married lovelessly to Menelaus, and finally?the only act in which she has not been completely passive?enthralled by passion in the form of Paris. If Helen, the victim of her own beauty and rank, is not exactly a heroine, Paris is far from a hero. He, too, is passive, blaming his actions on the will of the gods (particularly, Aphrodite), and is fonder of love and his own looks than he is of battle. Fortunately, almost two thirds of the novel is given to Cassandra. Her description of Helen as "bone sweet" does not, however, conform to the Helen we have met in Part I. Of course many readers will know the outcome of the story, but the accounts of battles, negotiations and stratagems, seen from within Troy, still manage to be suspenseful, and the ending is particularly deft. The writing is competent but not especially vivid and too often predictable; there is some clumsy exposition. Little differentiates the voice of Cassandra from the voice of Helen: both are misfits in their world, but their speech and thoughts lack individual identity. Nevertheless, the novel is carefully structured, there are some interesting historical details, and the idea of a woman's-eye view of The Iliad would seem timely. If this novel manages to introduce even a few more readers to the world of the ancient Greeks, it will be worth its shelf space.?Patricia (Dooley) Lothrop Green, St. George's School, Newport, RI
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Atheneum Books for Young Readers
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0689873972
• ISBN 13: 9780689873973
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 208