Mary Renault

New York Times Bestseller: This retelling of the Greek myth of Theseus, king of Athens, is “one of the truly fine historical novels of modern times” (The New York Times).
 In myth, Theseus was the slayer of the child-devouring Minotaur in Crete. What the founder-hero might have been in real life is another question, brilliantly explored in The King Must Die. Drawing on modern scholarship and...

A New York Times–bestselling novel of the ancient king of Macedon and his lover by the author Hilary Mantel calls “a shining light.”
The Persian Boy centers on the most tempestuous years of Alexander the Great’s life, as seen through the eyes of his lover and most faithful attendant, Bagoas.
When Bagoas is very young, his father is murdered and he is sold as a slave to King Darius of Persia....

The New York Times–bestselling portrayal of the life of ancient Greece’s lyric poet. “[Renault's] historical novels . . . are among the finest ever written” (The Washington Post Book World).
Simonides of Keos lived during the fifth and sixth centuries BC, a fertile period for the arts, when myths were being acted out and verse had just begun to be written down. In this evocative portrayal...

Two wary souls find a second chance at love while rock climbing in the English countryside in this novel from the New York Times–bestselling author.
 On vacation in the North Devon countryside, Neil Langton looks back on the wreckage of his past. The wounds from his former marriage are still raw; his wife cheated on him and his young daughter died. The teacher and rock climber believes hope to be behind him until he...

A wry romp through 1930s mores, social and sexual
Progressive for its time as well as ours, The Friendly Young Ladies is a deftly witty comedy set in England between the wars. At eighteen, Elsie has had enough of life at her bickering parents’ Cornwall home. She decides to join up with her bohemian older sister, Leo, in the city. Leo’s life is full of surprises—not least her significant other, Helen, a...

The conclusion to the New York Times–bestselling trilogy of ancient Greece by the author Hilary Mantel calls “a shining light.”
By the end of his reign, Alexander the Great had seized control of an empire that extended from the Adriatic Sea to the Indus River. When he died in 323 BC, a fervent scramble for power ensued. Funeral Games is Mary Renault’s remarkable novel of this turmoil and...

Mary Renault’s inventive debut novel: A love-triangle drama set against the backdrop of hospital life
Working in a hospital in 1930s Britain, two colleagues fall into an emotionally charged relationship. Vivian and Mic work demanding jobs and must endure long gaps between their secret meetings. But it is their relationship with Vivian’s brother, Jan, a charismatic scientist, that really complicates their union. Before falling...

An “intriguing and invaluable” biography of Alexander the Great by the novelist whose fiction redefined Ancient Greece (The New York Times).
Acclaimed writer Mary Renault is widely known for her provocative historical novels of Alexander the Great and his lovers. But she also authored this nonfiction classic, a fresh, illuminating look at a man whose legend has remained larger than life for more than two thousand years....