Yet the density and complexity of the medieval poem make it almost impenetrable to a wide readership, even in translation. So the time is right for a retelling of the story. This is a lively, accessible, inspirational version attractive both to adults and older children. It stays faithful to the spirit of the original while highlighting the relevance of its themes to current issues. The storyline is clarified and simplified. There is a brief introduction and a longer, reflective essay to examine the larger questions and themes the story raises. There is a strong practical element to help readers engaged in their own quest for meaning.

Parzival and the Stone from Heaven

Clarke, Lindsay

Thorsons

The story of Parzival has exercised a powerful fascination for writers, artists, and thinkers ever since it was written in the early 13th century, yet the density and complexity of the poem have made it almost impenetrable to a wide readership, even in translation. This new version is lively, accessible, and inspirational, staying faithful to the spirit of the original while highlighting the contemporary relevance of its themes.

Parzival and the Stone from Heaven: A Grail Romance Retold for Our Time

Literature & Fiction

Contemporary

Thorsons Pub.

In this sequel to The War at Troy, the trademark lyricism, lucidity, and mythic power is present in this novel that offers a timely interpretation of one of the world's great stories. After ten years of war, Troy has fallen, yet the gods have turned against the victorious Argives—and their ordeals have only just begun. Agamemnon sails back to Mycenae, where Clytaemnestra has nursed a vengeful fury over his sacrifice of their daughter Iphigenaia. Meanwhile, Menelaus must decide the fate of Helen, over whose incomparable beauty the war was fought. Odysseus, traumatized by the slaughter his own ingenuity unleashed, no longer believes himself fit to return to his wife and son. Driven both by tempests and torment, he embarks on a voyage that will take him to the margins of the world and deep into the shadows of his own heart.

The Return from Troy

British & Irish

HarperCollins, UK

The War at Troy

Vigorous new life is breathed into the myth's of Homer's Iliad in Lindsay Clarke's new dramatic retelling of the wars fought for the Bronze Age City of Troy.
Paris and Helen, Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, Achilles, Odysseus and Hector are skilfully rejuvenated in this startlingly contemporary drama of the passions.
"The people who lived in those days were closer to gods than we are, and great deeds and marvels were commoner then, which is why the stories we have from them are nobler and richer than our own. So that those stories should not pass from the earth, I have decided to set down everything I know of the stories of the war at Troy – of the way it began, of the way it was fought, and of the way in which it was ended."
With these words, Phemius the bard of Ithaca and friend to Odysseus, opens Lindsay Clarke's compelling new retelling of the myths and legends that grew up around the war that was fought for the Bronze Age city of Troy and have magnetized the imagination of the world ever since.
Here are the tales of two powerful generations of men and women, living out their destinies in the timeless zone where myth and history intersect and where the conflicts of the human heart are mirrored by quarrels among immortal gods. Peleus and Thetis, Paris and Helen, Agamemnon and Clytaemnestra, Achilles, Odysseus and Hector – all are given vigorous new life in a version of their stories which remains faithful to the mythic form in which they first appeared yet engages the reader in a startlingly contemporary drama of the passions.
THE WAR AT TROY speaks to a world still racked by violent conflict in ways which address important aspects of our own experience while at the same time providing imaginative access to the rich store of mythology which is our heritage from the ancient world.

Genre Fiction

Harpercollins

The second part of a masterful retelling of the stories surrounding the Trojan War. RETURN FROM TROY begins after the sacking of Troy, covering Odysseus’s trials and Agamemnon’s fate.
The Heroes Return is the second volume in this masterful retelling of the myths surrounding the Trojan War. In two parts the final novel begins by covering the return of Agamemnon to Mycenae, his murder by his wife Clytaemnestra in revenge for sacrificing their daughter and the consequences of that killing. The second part focuses on the adventures of Odysseus on his long struggle to return home to Ithaca and his wife Penelope.
Both volumes end in an Afterword; relating the mythological themes and motifs of the stories to crucial aspects of contemporary experience.

Return from Troy

PART ONE OF THE TROY QUARTET Bringing ancient myth to life with passion, humour, and humanity, Lindsay Clarke vividly retells the story of Troy and of the heroes who fought there. When the mortal Paris settles a contest between the gods, he is promised the love of Helen, the most beautiful woman in the world. But Helen is already married, to the powerful Menelaus of Sparta, and the kings of many cities have sworn to defend their union. Paris's divine gift threatens to set his world aflame. 'An engaging retelling of the whole story, neatly blending mythic archaism with modern psychodrama and satire' Mary Beard 1 - A PRINCE OF TROY 2 - THE WAR AT TROY 3 - THE SPOILS OF TROY 4 - THE RETURN FROM TROY

A Prince of Troy (The Troy Quartet) (Book 1)

The War at Troy (The Troy Quartet) (Book 2)

PART THREE OF THE TROY QUARTET Bringing ancient myth to life with passion, humour, and humanity, Lindsay Clarke vividly retells the story of Troy and of the heroes who fought there. Troy has fallen. After ten years of fighting and a savage final massacre, the victors quarrel over what remains and turn their minds to home. Menelaus must decide the fate of Helen, whose incomparable beauty ignited the war. And Agamemnon must return to the fury of Clytaemnestra, who has neither forgotten nor forgiven his choice to sacrifice their daughter. 'An engaging retelling of the whole story, neatly blending mythic archaism with modern psychodrama and satire' Mary Beard 1 - A PRINCE OF TROY 2 - THE WAR AT TROY 3 - THE SPOILS OF TROY 4 - THE RETURN FROM TROY

The Spoils of Troy (The Troy Quartet) (Book 3)

The Return from Troy (The Troy Quartet) (Book 4)

Literary

Sunday Whiteman

Vintage/Ebury (A Division of Random House Group)

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