The story of Troy speaks to all of us - the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies. In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.

In this perceptive retelling of The Iliad, a young Greek teacher draws on the enduring power of myth to help her students cope with the terrors of Nazi occupation. Bombs fall over a Greek village during World War II, and a teacher takes her students to a cave for shelter. There she tells them about another war—when the Greeks besieged Troy. Day after day, she recounts how the Greeks suffer from thirst, heat, and homesickness, and how the opponents meet—army against army, man against man. Helmets are cleaved, heads fly, blood flows. And everything had begun when Prince Paris of Troy fell in love with King Menelaus of Sparta's wife, the beautiful Helen, and escaped with her to his homeland. Now Helen stands atop the city walls to witness the horrors set in motion by her flight. When her current and former loves face each other in battle, she knows that, whatever happens, she will be losing. Theodor Kallifatides provides remarkable psychological insight in his version of The Iliad, downplaying the role of the gods and delving into the mindsets of its mortal heroes. Homer's epic comes to life with a renewed urgency that allows us to experience events as though firsthand, and reveals timeless truths about the senselessness of war and what it means to be human.

The siege of Troy has lasted almost ten years. Inside the walled city, food is scarce and death is common. From the heights of Mount Olympus, the Gods keep watch. But Aphrodite, Goddess of Love, is bored with the endless, dreary war. Aided by Eros's bow, the goddess sends two sisters down a bloody path to an awful truth: In the fury of war, love strikes the deadliest blows. Heralded by fans and critics alike, Adèle Geras breathes personality, heartbreak, and humour into this classic story.

A daring and timely feminist retelling of The Iliad from the perspective of the women of Troy who endured it—an extraordinary follow up to The Silence of the Girls from the Booker Prize-winning author of The Regeneration Trilogy and “one of contemporary literature’s most thoughtful and compelling writers" (The Washington Post). Troy has fallen and the victorious Greeks are eager to return home with the spoils of an endless war—including the women of Troy themselves. They await a fair wind for the Aegean. It does not come, because the gods are offended. The body of King Priam lies unburied and desecrated, and so the victors remain in suspension, camped in the shadows of the city they destroyed as the coalition that held them together begins to unravel. Old feuds resurface and new suspicions and rivalries begin to fester. Largely unnoticed by her captors, the one time Trojan queen Briseis, formerly Achilles's slave, now belonging to his companion Alcimus, quietly takes in these developments. She forges alliances when she can, with Priam's aged wife the defiant Hecuba and with the disgraced soothsayer Calchas, all the while shrewdly seeking her path to revenge.

In this brilliant conclusion to his bestselling Mythos trilogy, legendary author and actor Stephen Fry retells the tale of the Trojan War. Full of tragic heroes, intoxicating love stories, and the unstoppable force of fate, there is no conflict more iconic than the Trojan War. Troy is the story of the epic battle retold by Fry with drama, humor, and vivid emotion. Achilles, Hector, Odysseus, Helen, their lovers, and their mortal enemies all burn bright in Fry's compelling prose. Illustrated throughout with classical art inspired by the myths, this gorgeous volume invites you to explore a captivating world with a brilliant storyteller as your guide. • BELOVED AUTHOR: Stephen Fry is an icon whose signature wit and mellifluous style makes this retelling utterly unique. Fans will love hearing his interpretation, whether they are familiar with the original Greek myths or not. • TIMELESS STORIES: For fans of Neil Gaiman's Norse Mythology, Madeline Miller's Circe or Song of Achilles, or Pat Barker's The Silence of the Girls, this is the perfect next great read. These ancient tales never get old. • STUNNING SERIES CONCLUSION: Mythos and Heroes, the first two installments in the trilogy, were international bestsellers. Now fans can read the thrilling third book. • GORGEOUS GIFT: With a vibrant contemporary design, full-color artwork throughout, and shimmering metallic highlights on the jacket, this book makes a superb present.

A SONG OF WAR Troy: city of gold, gatekeeper of the east, haven of the god-born and the lucky, a city destined to last a thousand years. But the Fates have other plans—the Fates, and a woman named Helen. In the shadow of Troy's gates, all must be reborn in the greatest war of the ancient world: slaves and queens, heroes and cowards, seers and kings . . . and these are their stories. A young princess and an embittered prince join forces to prevent a fatal elopement. A tormented seeress challenges the gods themselves to save her city from the impending disaster. A tragedy-haunted king battles private demons and envious rivals as the siege grinds on. A doomed hero launches a desperate plan to bring the war to a close. A grizzled archer and a desperate Amazon risk their lives to avenge their dead. A trickster conceives the greatest trick of all. A goddess' son battles to save the spirit of Troy even as the walls are breached in fire and blood. Seven authors bring to life the epic tale of the Trojan War: its heroes, its villains, its survivors, its dead. Who will lie forgotten in the embers, and who will rise to shape the bloody dawn of a new age?

To introduce John Lydgate's landmark poem the Troy Book to students and non-specialist readers, the editor has selected the essential passages from the poem and bridges any gaps with textual summaries. Also included are an introduction, gloss, notes, and a glossary. John Lydgate, a monk of the great Benedictine abbey of Bury St. Edmunds in Suffolk, began composing the poem, an ambitious attempt at recounting the Trojan War in Middle English, in October 1412 on commission from Henry, Prince of Wales (later King Henry V), and completed it in 1420. The poem is an interesting study for those interested in medieval approaches to classical sources, as well as for its often contradictory and complicated take on contemporary chivalry.

In this historical adventure by the author of King of Ithaca, Odysseus and his warrior companion journey toward the dawning of the Trojan War. Settled in his small island kingdom, Odysseus wants nothing more than to rule Ithaca in peace. Meanwhile his warrior friend Eperitus, frustrated at his quiet life, dreams of glory in battle. But when Agamemnon’s fleet appears on the horizon, Odysseus knows that war is upon him. Helen of Sparta has been abducted by a Trojan prince and the armies of Greece are gathering. As the greatest heroes flock to the crusade, only one is missing. Odysseus knows that without Achilles, the gates of Troy will never fall. He must use all his cunning to hunt him down and persuade him to join their cause . . . From the Greek islands to the fearsome walls of Troy, this is a novel of pulse-racing battle and intrigue, perfect for readers of George R.R. Martin, Conn Iggulden and Tad Williams. Praise for The Gates of Troy: “Iliffe . . . displays his thorough knowledge of classical literature, vividly bringing to life the glories of Troy. . . . A satisfying tale of politics, romance, and war under the shadow of the Olympian gods in this comprehensive retelling of the genesis of the Trojan War.” —Publishers Weekly

Gemma Gary explores modern approaches to ancient practices of witches, charmers, and conjurers of the 18th and 19th centuries. The practices described within this book are rooted in the traditional witchcraft of multiple British streams, making its charms and spells adaptable for practitioners in any land. Topics include fairy faith, the underworld, the Bucca, places of power, magical tools, and more.

This authoritative book is the first to deal comprehensively with the historical, technical, and aesthetic aspects of woodfiring.