Book
The Windswept City
First published 1967
Asterius, a slave in Helen’s household, is carried into the Trojan War and observes the famous leaders from below rather than as unquestioned heroes. The long siege brings him into contact with Palamedes, Odysseus, Agamemnon and the competing warriors whose quarrels shape the Greek camp. Loyalty to Helen does not protect him from the calculations of kings.
Treece reconstructs Troy as a city exhausted by years of blockade, hunger and expectation. Hector, Priam, Paris and Cassandra remain caught between family duty and the knowledge that victory may be impossible, while Achilles embodies both the splendour and destructiveness of heroic warfare. The novel makes the fall of the city a human disaster experienced by servants and civilians as well as legendary fighters.
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