Book description
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
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.
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. 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
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.
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.
