Margaret George is an established historical novelist, penning such
successful books as THE AUTOBIOGRAPHY OF HENRY VIII, MARY QUEEN OF
SCOTLAND AND THE ISLES, THE MEMOIRS OF CLEOPATRA and MARY, CALLED
MAGDALENE. Slightly more than 600 pages, HELEN OF TROY is a
sweeping novel --- a panorama of historical Greece and Troy with
breathtaking scenery.

Helen, daughter of the Grecian King Tyndareus, tells her story in
the first person, which draws the reader deep into her persona from
the beginning. From her early days in the palace at Sparta, Helen
is forbidden to look into a glass or uncover her veiled face in
public. Her beauty is like that of a goddess; she's known to her
mother, the queen, as Cygnet, the little swan. Legend has it that
Helen is the love child of the god Zeus and her mother during a
time when the king was away from home. Helen is believed to be the
most beautiful mortal female on earth.

Her beauty is both a curse and a blessing. She's cursed because of
a prophecy that she will be the cause of a great war that will
obliterate a noble city. When her sister, Clymenestra, becomes of
marriageable age, the king hosts the various suitors who arrive
from near and far-off city-states to vie for her hand. Many
eligible men of all ages arrive in Sparta for the feasts and games
necessary in the royal culture. Agamemnon of Mycenae wins the right
to her hand. Helen's childhood changes when her sister moves away
from Sparta; soon, it will be her turn to be chosen in
marriage.

For the first time in her sheltered life, Helen removes the veil
and shows herself to the 40 or more men who come to Sparta with
offers to Tyndareus. She changes the rites and chooses her husband
for herself. Menelaus of Mycenae, brother to Agamemnon, wins her
hand. She discovers early in the marriage that his brother has
warlike tendencies and talks of conquering lands across the waters,
a city like Troy. Soon a mother, Helen settles into a routine of
weaving and caring for her baby daughter, Hermione.

The characters have a close relationship with the gods and
goddesses they worship. Oracles proclaim present and future actions
that must not be taken lightly. There is great belief in visions
seen and heard from the god; if a happening is preordained by a
god, there is severe risk in opposing it. Helen puts her faith in
the goddess Aphrodite and converses with her in visions. She knows
it is the purpose of Aphrodite to unite her with an envoy from Troy
who has come as ambassador to negotiate for the return of a Trojan
woman taken captive by the Greeks. Paris, prince of Troy, is the
young man who steals her heart during their first meeting.

Consequently, Helen forsakes her homeland, Sparta, her family and
countrymen to sail across the waters to the far city of Troy. The
story follows the myth studied in English classes but with artistic
license taken by the author. George weaves a beautiful story filled
with the human emotion that a woman such as Helen may have
experienced in the circumstances of her life. The notoriety that
she accepted, and then rejected, likens her to a modern celebrity
who yearns to hide from faithful followers. Helen took pleasure in
the daily living she attained as a married woman, but she could
never escape her destiny.

Landscapes, architectural accomplishments, weapons of war, civilian
livelihood, manners of costume and dress, religious beliefs and
practices, and hierarchies of royalty are written as a panorama of
Greek life. If, indeed, Troy and Sparta did exist as depicted in
HELEN OF TROY, they are civilizations that come to life on the
pages herein. Curiosity automatically follows about this mythical
time in history. Margaret George's novel may be based on fantasy,
but it reads like reality. HELEN OF TROY is the story of a
beautiful woman whose destiny was to be remembered in the entire
literary world as the face that began a great war. Fact or fiction?
Decide for yourself.