As its title implies, Heywood’s book focuses on two daughters of the Spartan monarchs, Helen and Klytemnestra. Though they are both born into wealth and prestige, they soon take very different live paths. Klytemnestra, though originally the heir to her father’s throne, is instead married to Agamemnon, newly-crowned king of Mycenae. Neither of them, however, find much happiness.

But when the weight of their husbands' neglect, cruelty and ambition becomes too heavy to bear, they must push against the constraints of their sex to carve new lives for themselves - and in doing so make waves that will ripple throughout the next three thousand years.The cover of Daughters of Sparta advertises: “Two sisters parted. Two women blamed. Two stories reclaimed.” It’s probably fairly obvious at this point how I feel about the trope of contemporary women declaring that they are “reclaiming” ancient Greek women’s stories. Obviously, fiction writers can retell myths any way they choose. Personally, I wish they would not promote these retellings as some sort of reclamation project. I wish we would stop erasing ancient women so that we can claim to have discovered them. The reason we know about their stories is because they were told in antiquity, sometimes in more sensitive and nuanced ways than they are told today. Sometimes, I felt information is withheld from the reader for a little too long. By the end, I was getting annoyed by how many times people refused to tell Daphne who her true father is. As princesses of Sparta, Helen and Klytemnestra have known nothing but luxury and plenty. With their high birth and unrivaled beauty, they are the envy of all of Greece. But such privilege comes at a cost. While still only girls, the sisters are separated and married to foreign kings of their father’s choosing—the powerful Agamemnon, and his brother Menelaos. Yet even as Queens, each is only expected to do two things: birth an heir and embody the meek, demure nature that is expected of women. Claire M. Andrews, Daughter of Sparta Characters & Romance Close-up of a Greek dish hand painted with Dionysus on it, next to a notebook and the hardcover edition of Daughter of Sparta.

If you love epic books about Greek mythology and the often misunderstood or misinterpreted women within these tales, Daughters of Sparta should be right at the top of your reading list. It's a vividly written and compelling retelling that brings the Spartan princesses to life with all the human fortitude and foibles you'd expect from flesh and blood people. I'm already impatiently awaiting the reveal of the next set of female perspectives from the ancient world that Claire Heywood will be writing about in her second novel.Oh and, not to spoil anything, but I adored the overall ending. It was not what I expected, but I thought it was just fitting. The story of the Siege of Troy from the infamous Helen and her sister Klytemnestra's points of view - a tale of secrets, passion and revenge from the women behind mythology's most devastating war.

For millennia, men have told the legend of the woman whose face launched a thousand ships—but now it’s time to hear her side of the story . Daughters of Sparta is a tale of secrets, love, and tragedy from the women behind mythology’s most devastating war, the infamous Helen and her sister Klytemnestra. Claire M. Andrews, Daughter of Sparta Final Thoughts Flatlay of Daughter of Sparta on top of a notebook betweek a Greek painted dish and a teapot and wolf dish on the other side. In some ways, Helen’s fate is even more tragic than her sister’s, for while Klytemnestra at least manages to solidify her position as the queen of Mycenae, the world’s most beautiful woman soon finds herself deeply unhappy as the queen of Sparta. Heywood ably captures her sense of heartbreak and despair as she comes to terms with the fact that she can neither love her daughter Hermione as she should and has no desire to have any more children with Menelaos. And, while the young Trojan prince Paris at first seems to offer her a chance to live life on her own terms and to escape from the prison of duty, things are not nearly so simple.

Initial Thoughts

But there is a good amount of action in this book, and I certainly enjoyed the excitement of those scenes! Helen of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra are reimagined in this gorgeous retelling of the classic Greek myth—not as women defined by their husbands and lovers but as battle-weary survivors of a patriarchal society who take control of their own destiny. Absolutely riveting!” — Alka Joshi, New York Times bestselling author of The Henna Artist Inspired by David Copperfield, Kingsolver crafts a 21st-century coming-of-age story set in America’s hard-pressed rural South.

If I have one complaint about Daughters of Sparta, it’s that it feels a bit too short. We are, after all, dealing with two of the most (in)famous women of ancient myth, one known for committing the heinous act of murdering her husband in his own house, the other known throughout history as a woman who ran away from her rightful husband and launched a devastating war. There are several time jumps that leap over some important developments—particularly the relationships between Klytemnestra and Aigisthos and between Helen, Paris, and the rest of the residents of Troy. Brilliantly compelling . . . the perfect balance between historical authenticity and characters who I really connected withOverall, Daughter of Sparta is a solid read that will take you to a heart-pounding journey along with your favourite classic Greek myths. Perfect for readers of Circe and Ariadne, Daughters of Sparta is a vivid and illuminating retelling of the Siege of Troy that tells the story of mythology’s most vilified women from their own mouths at long last. Author Claire Heywood has written a great new historical fiction novel centered on the women known as Helen Of Troy and her sister Klytemnestra…If you’re a fan of historical fiction, this is right up your alley.” —Red Carpet Crash