A Thousand Ships by Natalie Haynes retells the legends of the Trojan war through the eyes of the women and goddesses ensnared in its bloodthirsty web.
We are taken under each character’s wings and given a glimpse into their hearts; from Iphigenia – daughter of Agamemnon – as she realises she is being taken to her death rather than her wedding, to Eris – the goddess of strife – as she discovers the golden apple of discord. Haynes conjures a vivid connection between reader and subject, one that is almost painful to break as each part draws to a pause or a close.
It was a delight to explore more thoroughly the stories of the women who (for the most part) get brushed aside in the Iliad and the Odyssey and I would strongly recommend A Thousand Ships to anyone looking to immerse themselves in the messy but beguiling world of Greek mythology from a fresh perspective.
“Sing, Muse, he said, and I have sung. I have sung of men. I have sung of gods and monsters, I have sung of stories and lies. I have sung of death and of life, of joy and of pain. I have sung of life after death. And I have sung of the women, the women in the shadows. I have sung of the forgotten, the ignored, the untold. I have picked up the old stories and I have shaken them until the hidden women appear in plain sight.”
Joanna Corbet 
This has been on my TBR for a while and I really should get to it! Have you read Pat Barker’s Silence of the Girls? It sounds like it had some similarities.
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I really enjoyed it so would definitely encourage giving it a try! I haven’t read Silence of the Girls yet, it’s been on my TBR for some time though so hopefully will get round to it soon. I read Circe by Madeline Miller last year and I’m loving that there are so many great retellings of ancient myths to choose from now!
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I also read Miller’s Song of Achilles which was excellent and I hope to read Circe this year. It is really fun that there are so many authors taking on myths with new angles.
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