Emily Hauser
Transworld Books/Penguin Random House
Otago Daily Times, April 4th 2016
Although it is said that every story has already been told, there are innumerable ways to reinvent or contemporise them them, to offer fresh perspectives or make them relevant to a modern readership. These may take the form of sequels, modern retellings of classic tales, or, as in For The Most Beautiful, the exploration of the story from the perspective of one or more of its minor characters.
In her alternative to the Iliad, inspired by Margaret Atwood’s feminist retelling of Homer’s Odyssey, classicist Emily Hauser explores the ‘hidden story’ of Troy’s women and, by extension, the other common folk whose experiences are eclipsed by the deeds of the warriors and heroes that dominate the standard narrative of war. Her chosen narrators are Krisayis (Chryseis), the daughter of High Priest Polydamus, whose capture was said to bring the wrath of Apollo down on the Greek camp in the form of a virulent plague, and Briseis, former princess of Pedasus and Lyrnessus now bed-slave to Archilles.
Although barely mentioned in Homer’s epic, Hauser argues these two women played pivotal roles in the narrative – Archilles’ insistence that Agamemnon release Krisayis to appease the gods leads the king to claim Briseis for himself, at which point the warrior refuses to lead his men into battle – and she drawn on hints from elsewhere in both the Iliad and other Trojan narratives to reconstruct their wider stories.
From Krisayis we learn of her life in Troy as Cassandra’s companion and Troilus’ lover, the preparations for war and her subsequent feeding of military secrets back to Troy from the Greek camp where she is imprisoned. Through Briseis’ eyes we watch Archilles brutally slay her husband, learn of the death of her brothers by those same hands, and share her struggles to reconcile her revulsion and anger towards him with the growing sexual and emotional attraction that subsequently develops.
These narratives alternate throughout the book, interspersed by glimpses of the Gods for whom the battlefield serves as both entertainment and a chance to settle petty squabbles, with scant regard for the mortals they are supposed to protect.
Overall the novel is more concerned with the characters than the setting or details of what life would actually have been like at the time, and conforms to most of the popular romantic traditions – Hauser cites Philippa Gregory as another touchstone and leans a little more toward Gregory than Atwood for my tastes – but neither of her women submit meekly to their plight and she certainly provides an alternative slant on a traditionally male-dominated narrative.
She has also interwoven the various sources of her story together well, and the book includes an explanation of the Bronze Age calendar, pronunciation guide, and glossaries of people and places involved. There is even a suggested reading list of primary and secondary sources for those interested in learning more about the fall of Troy, and For The Most Beautiful is certain to appeal to a wide audience.
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