The House of Atreus is spiralling into self-destruction — a woman must find a way to break the family curse. Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to […]
Motives of a Bronze Age murderess
What drove Queen Clytemnestra to murder her husband, Agamemnon? As Susan C Wilson writes, she had enough of a motive given the savage history of his family and his treatment of her children; enough to demand vengeance in Bronze Age society. What springs to mind when we consider Clytemnestra from Greek mythology? Adulterous wife of […]
Six godmothers of archaeology
Alexandra Walsh pays tribute to six pioneering women who gained respect in the male domain of archaeology in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and who inspired her latest novel. They were the ‘godmothers of archaeology’ who worked in Crete, Egypt, Iran, Iraq and Turkey at sites such as Knossos, Babylon and Troy. The […]
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
London, 1799. Dora Blake lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. For Edward, the ancient vase is the key to unlocking […]
Pandora by Susan Stokes-Chapman
London, 1799. Dora Blake is an aspiring jewellery artist who lives with her uncle in what used to be her parents’ famed shop of antiquities. When a mysterious Greek vase is delivered, Dora is intrigued by her uncle’s suspicious behaviour and enlists the help of Edward Lawrence, a young antiquarian scholar. Edward sees the ancient […]
The Three Paradises by Robert Fabbri
Alexander the Great’s sudden and unexpected death has left the largest, most formidable empire the world has ever seen leaderless. As the fight to take control descends into ruthless scheming and bloody battles, no one – man, woman or child – is safe. As wars on land and sea are lost and won, and promises […]
The Last Greek by Christian Cameron
211 BC. The Roman invasion from the western seas is imminent, and from the south the Spartans are burning and pillaging their way north. Battle-hardened Philopoemen believes the Achean League is facing annihilation if it does not arm. But without a formal army or cavalry, they don’t stand a chance. Convincing his friend and healer […]
Beware of Greeks: when Homer meets Holmes
Peter Tonkin, author of many adventure and murder mystery books, takes his skills to another age: mythical Ancient Greece. Homer’s epic tales of Odysseus and the Trojan war have been favourite holiday reading for many years. What, he wonders, would happen if he took Sherlock Holmes and dropped him into the Mycenaean Bronze Age? July […]