Mary Renault books WAS: Re: Sex! Love! Writing!

[susanmcgee48176]

--- In HPFGU-OTChatter at yahoogroups.com, "dumbledore11214" 
<dumbledore11214 at ...> wrote:
>
> > Julie:
> > I too have read all of Mary Renault's novels set in Ancient 
Greece. 
> In fact 
> > I own them, as they are among my all-time favorites. I 
particularly 
> loved 
> > The Persian Boy (part of the Alexander trilogy) and The Praise 
> Singer. She
> > was certainly a very gifted writer. 
> > 
> 
> Alla:
> 
> I will always love Fire from heaven the best - my heart wanted 
> Alexander with Hepastion ( can never spell his name correctly) and 
> not with anybody else.
> 
> I also loved Last drop of vine ( read it in Russian) so much.
> 
> She writes beatifully - language in Charioteer is so melodical, 
like 
> a poetry, even if it is not set in ancient Greece, although 
obviously 
> some allusions to mythology are made.
> 
> If you have not read it, highly recommend.
> 
> Hmmm. I do not think I read Praise singer, unless the russian name 
is 
> very different, what is it about?
>

In English, The Last of the Wine......

Praise Singer is about the lyric poets. It's about a very ugly boy 
who grew up with a great gift for music and became one of the most 
famous lyric poets (Simonides). It focuses on the period in Ancient 
Greece before Pericles -- when Pistratos was the leader in Athens...

Lots of lovely stuff about memorizing Homer......

I do also love the Persian Boy. The part where Bagoas ( says about 
Alexander..)
"All I taught him that night, he thought that by some happy harmony 
of our souls, we were discovering together. So indeed, it seemed at 
least even to me."

Susan