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Out of all the women in Greek mythology, Helen of Troy ranked fairly low on the ones I was extremely interested in. I loved Homer’s The Odyssey and I like the myth of Troy, but beautiful, docile Helen was far from my favourite character. I felt bad for her the poor woman -she was a prize given to a spoiled prince by an even more spoiled goddess, a political pawn, and the reason that launched a war that destroyed a civilization- but really didn’t put much thought towards her. That said, Esther Friesner’s Nobody’s Princess still appealed to me. I enjoy it when authors take mythology and write it as historical fiction. That’s what Friesner does, and she does it very well.
Helen is most famous for being Helen of Troy, but before that she was Helen of Sparta, and that’s the story Nobody’s Princess tells. The story isn’t Helen’s abduction and the fall of Troy, but Helen’s life before that. The story begins in Sparta where Helen is a princess. This Helen is a lot more interesting than her mythological counterpart. As a princess and a woman, Helen is supposed to act a certain way and have a certain future, but Helen is having none of that (probably helped by the fact her parents let her get away with it for so long). She’s fiery, rebellious, and adventurous (basically, my kind of girl). Helen seizes her freedom whenever she can, and it’s especially seen when Helen leaves Sparta. Helen becomes a major player in some other Greek myths, the most obvious being the Caledonian Boar Hunt. She’s given a part in the events without completely changing the myth itself. She meets other mythological figures, including Atlanta, who is one of my favourite mortal characters in Greek mythology.
Friesner mixes mythology and history wonderfully. The book is far from historically accurate (a note- ancient Sparta was nothing like portrayed), but Friesner still takes the myths and makes them realistic. Greek religion plays a part, but it’s just that- it’s religion, not absolute truth. Gods are mentioned, but never make an appearance (or are even shown to be truly real). Helen meets an array of other mythological characters and they are too made real (one of them even admits that the stories going around –i.e. the myths we know- are a bit of an exaggeration). Nobody’s Princess gives Helen of Troy a personality worth rooting for and brings some of the myths of ancient Greece to life. It’s not only Helen that gets this treatment, but all the other characters as well. For anyone who is a fan of Greek mythology it’s definitely a fun thing to read.
Helen is most famous for being Helen of Troy, but before that she was Helen of Sparta, and that’s the story Nobody’s Princess tells. The story isn’t Helen’s abduction and the fall of Troy, but Helen’s life before that. The story begins in Sparta where Helen is a princess. This Helen is a lot more interesting than her mythological counterpart. As a princess and a woman, Helen is supposed to act a certain way and have a certain future, but Helen is having none of that (probably helped by the fact her parents let her get away with it for so long). She’s fiery, rebellious, and adventurous (basically, my kind of girl). Helen seizes her freedom whenever she can, and it’s especially seen when Helen leaves Sparta. Helen becomes a major player in some other Greek myths, the most obvious being the Caledonian Boar Hunt. She’s given a part in the events without completely changing the myth itself. She meets other mythological figures, including Atlanta, who is one of my favourite mortal characters in Greek mythology.
Friesner mixes mythology and history wonderfully. The book is far from historically accurate (a note- ancient Sparta was nothing like portrayed), but Friesner still takes the myths and makes them realistic. Greek religion plays a part, but it’s just that- it’s religion, not absolute truth. Gods are mentioned, but never make an appearance (or are even shown to be truly real). Helen meets an array of other mythological characters and they are too made real (one of them even admits that the stories going around –i.e. the myths we know- are a bit of an exaggeration). Nobody’s Princess gives Helen of Troy a personality worth rooting for and brings some of the myths of ancient Greece to life. It’s not only Helen that gets this treatment, but all the other characters as well. For anyone who is a fan of Greek mythology it’s definitely a fun thing to read.