Shortlisted for the Lost Man Booker Prize.
Telling the story of Alexander the Great this is the first part of a trilogy and covers Alexander’s childhood. This is a fictionalised account but Renault has a keen eye for historical detail and an obvious interest in her subject matter. A great start to a superb trilogy.
'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERS'The Alexandriad is one of the twentieth century's most unexpectedly original works of art' GORE VIDALIn the first novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend.Alexander's beauty, strength and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king. His mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son's loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle. His love for the youth Hephaistion taught him trust, while Aristotle's tutoring provoked his mind and Homer's Iliad fuelled his aspirations. Killing his first man in battle at the age of twelve, he became regent at sixteen and commander of Macedon's cavalry at eighteen, so that by the time his father was murdered, Alexander's skills had grown to match his fiery ambition.Shortlisted for the 1970 Lost Booker Prize'This is not just a novel: it's also the best imagining we are ever likely to have of a man who tore up history. The language may seem a bit florid at first - a little too "historical novel" - but set all snobbery aside: this is wonderful, scholarly, top-flight stuff' - Emily Wilson, Guardian'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the 20th century . . . it represents the pinnacle of [Renault's] career . . . Renault's skill is in immersing us in their world, drawing us into its strangeness, its violence and beauty. It's a literary conjuring trick like all historical fiction - it can only ever be an approximation of the truth. But in Renault's hands, the trick is so convincing and passionately conjured' - Antonia Senior, The Times
| Primary Genre | Modern and Contemporary Fiction |
| Recommendations: |
'The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat' SARAH WATERS'The Alexandriad is one of the twentieth century's most unexpectedly original works of art' GORE VIDALIn the first novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend.Alexander's beauty, strength and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king.
Fire from Heaven features in the following genres: Modern and Contemporary Fiction, eBooks of the Month, General Fiction, Fiction, Recommendations
Paperback, Ebook. £9.89, down from the £10.99 cover price. In Stock.
Fire from Heaven was written by Mary Renault and published by Virago an imprint of Little, Brown
Fire from Heaven has 448 pages
Yes it is part of Virago Modern Classics series
£9.89, reduced from £10.99. In Stock.
