The Songs of the Kings

by Barry Unsworth (Author)

• Used

  Paperback
  2003

  $3.42

  A thoroughly modern tale of politics, spin-doctoring, and media manipulation. As the harsh wind holds the Greek fleet trapped in the straits at Aulis, frustration and political impotence turn into a desire for the blood of a young and innocent woman - blood that will appease the gods and allow the troops to set sail. And when Iphigeneia, Agamemnon's beloved daughter, is brought to the coast under false pretences, it looks as if the ships will soon be on their way. But can a father really go to these lengths to secure political victory, and can a daughter willingly give up her life for the worldly ambitions of her father?

• Used

  Hardcover
  2002

  $3.28

  Barry Unsworth's new novel stands the world on its head as a cast of Homeric characters find their high-sounding principles clashing with private motives...The Trojan War is about to break out, and Agamemnon will do anything to enable the Greek fleet to set sail with the wind behind him. Even the sacrifice of his daughter Iphigeneia is not too much to ask. This, however, is a very modern cast of Homeric characters, and throwing off the heroic values we expect of them, they have embraced the political ethos of the twenty-first century and speak in words we recognise as our own.