Product Description

History’s Greatest BeautyTells the Story of Her Life

Gossips began whispering about Princess Helen from the moment of her birth. A daughter of the royal house of Sparta, she was not the progeny of King Tyndareus, they murmured, but of Zeus, king of the gods. Her mother, Queen Leda, a powerful priestess, was branded an adulteress, with tragic consequences. As Helen grew to adulthood her beauty was so breathtaking it overshadowed that of every woman in Sparta. When she was kidnapped by Theseus, king of Athens, in a gambit to replenish his kingdom’s coffers, she was relieved to get away from the place where she had been so unhappy.

Helen fell in love with the much older Theseus, and to his surprise, he returned the feelings. But soon Helen was forced to return to Sparta and was hastily married off to the tepid Menelaus for the sake of an advantageous political alliance. After years of marriage, the spirited, passionate Helen was not the docile wife King Menelaus desired, and when she fell in love with another man—Paris Alexandros, the prodigal son of King Priam of Troy—Helen unwittingly set the stage for the ultimate conflict: a war that would destroy nearly all she held dear.

In this lush, compelling novel of passion and loss, Helen of Troy, a true survivor, tells the truth about her life, her lovers, and the Trojan War. This is the memoir that she has written—her legendary beauty still undimmed by age.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #592869 in Books
• Published on: 2006-07-25
• Released on: 2006-07-25
• Original language: English
• Dimensions: 7.95" h x .83" w x 5.26" l, .54 pounds
• Binding: Paperback
• 336 pages

From Publishers Weekly
Actress and author Leslie Carroll (Miss Match) checks in under an assumed name for her debut historical. Writing for her abandoned daughter, Hermione, in a rich but sometimes overwrought prose, Helen of Troy recalls her girlhood as a Spartan princess. Her stepfather, Tyndareus, doesn't love her (Helen is the daughter of Leda and Zeus); her sister, Clytemnestra, is jealous of her; her mother introduces her to the old ways of "the Goddess" and then kills herself. Helen grows into a lovely young woman; at 14, she's kidnapped by Theseus. At first miffed he has done so for ransom (she fancies herself the prize), she later falls in love with him, and when her brothers come to save her, she's pregnant with his child. Giving her daughter to Clytemnestra and married off to Menelaus—a rocky union from the start—Helen then falls for visiting Paris. When she runs away with him, it's almost convenient for Menelaus and his brother, Agamemnon—the perfect reason to attack Troy. Though divinely conceived, this Helen is skeptical of those she calls "the sky gods"; she's a study in contrasts generally, all cool analysis and white-hot passion. The problem is that she's not quite convincing as either one or the other, though the story is engrossing. (Oct.)
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From Booklist
"Men do not go to war over an abducted woman," states Theseus, king of Athens, after kidnapping young Helen of Sparta. His words are both prophetic and true. Helen, in middle age, writes her autobiography for her daughter, Hermione, revealing how she became the notorious Helen of Troy. The half-immortal daughter of Zeus by Leda, queen of Sparta, Helen grows up nearly friendless, for her looks arouse women's jealousy. Her youthful sexuality awakened by Theseus, Helen quickly learns that her beauty is both a source of power and a curse. When she abandons her dull husband, Menelaus, for handsome Paris Alexandros of Troy, Menelaus' brother, Agamemnon, finds his excuse to conquer that faraway city. Intelligent yet occasionally vain, Helen lives out her greatest dream only to lose nearly everything she cherishes when Troy falls. Blending mythology with history, Elyot (pseudonym of actress-novelist Leslie Carroll) details Helen's unforgettable journey from innocence to tragedy and, finally, happiness. Fans of historical women's fiction will savor this engrossing novel about the rewards and dangers of following one's heart. Sarah Johnson
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Review
“Luminously intelligent, beautifully written, a delightful blend of magic and mythos.” —Linda Lael Miller, author of McKettrick’s Choice