For The Most Beautiful

In her sparkling debut novel classicist Emily Hauser offers a fresh take on the old but living legend spun so artfully in Homer's Iliad . . . tells a ripping good story.

PAUL CARTLEDGE, Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge

A feast for the senses, richly described and effortlessly easy to read. It brings to life an ancient world long gone, and in so doing reminds us of the traumas and costs of war, which are sadly still so much a part of our world today.

MICHAEL SCOTT, presenter of Rome's Invisible City

Once in a while something comes along that’s so utterly right, so necessary for now, that you wonder why nobody thought of it before. Emily Hauser’s stunning debut novel . . . brings ancient Troy wildly, raucously, passionately alive and tells at last the stories of those who really mattered.

MANDA SCOTT, bestselling author of Boudica and Into the Fire

A delight from start to finish. Hauser’s fresh perspective on one of the great archetypal epics, in focusing on the marginalised women’s stories, makes for fascinating reading . . . a clever premise and a thoroughly enjoyable.

ELIZABETH FREMANTLE, author of Sisters of Treason

A brilliant re-imagining of the Iliad, faithful to the original yet completely accessible . . . the two young women at the centre of the drama are faithfully representative of their time and place yet feel compellingly contemporary . . . Emily Hauser has given us a lively new take on a classic.

TERRY HAWKINS, author of The Rage of Achilles

Fascinating . . . highly convincing . . . a familiar tale told in an unfamiliar way. Presenting the story from the point of view of the women, rather than the warriors, gives Hauser's novel real edge and originality.

Nick Rennison, BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE

Intensely described . . . there is no doubting Hauser's passionate involvement with, and knowledge of, her subject.

Elizabeth Buchan, DAILY MAIL

Breathing life into these bit-part characters . . . written with energy and passion.

Antonia Senior, THE TIMES

A new, feminine perspective on the events of the Iliad . . . a colourful tale of gods and mortals.

SUNDAY TIMES

This elegant, warm novel moves between two great Trojan beauties . . . through their stories, we witness both sides of this titanic war while feminine beauty and masculine martial prowess compete for the attention of the reader and the gods.

SUNDAY EXPRESS

Hauser’s characters are brave, wilful, sometimes foolish, impulsive, and utterly relatable, and her portrayal of the manipulative, capricious gods is particularly wonderful . . . this quick-paced, enthralling retelling will attract readers who loved Madeline Miller’s The Song of ­Achilles

LIBRARY JOURNAL

Colourful and entertaining . . . a very different story when seen through female eyes.

Nick Rennison, BBC HISTORY magazine

Colourful and entertaining tale of gods and mortals, war and love.

History Today