Inside the Walls of Troy

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Summary: Inside the Walls of Troy Review
Review: My sixth grade class at Laurel School read Inside the Walls of Troy. Before that, we had just finished reading a book about Troy and the Trojan War. Our class did have an idea of who the characters where, but we didn't know too much about the women. Inside the Walls of Troy gave us a great picture of how the women lived and felt during this awful war. There was Cassandra, a seer, who was supposedly given the gift of "sight" by the god of music, Apollo. There was also Helen, the most beautiful women in the world who was married off to Menelaus, an ugly, hairy armed, loving man. These are the two main women in this book and there are actually two parts about them. You start off with Helen being the main character. In this part, you start off with Helen living in Sparta with her sister Penelope and her maid Hessia. Theseus comes and kidnaps Helen and tries to show her how to be a proper lady. Helen is thirteen at the time and her brothers come and save her. When she goes home, suitors await her all wanting her hand in marriage. Everyone is in awe over Helen's beauty and have to make the vow of the horse not to hurt or kill her husband or any of his family. Helen marries Menelaus and they become rulers of Sparta. After a while, they have their first child, Hermione who Menelaus adores. Menelaus invites a Trojan to maybe make a truce over brewing trade problems. Paris came and ends up running away with Helen. They flee to Troy where they plan to live happily ever after. In the second part, which is more about Cassandra, Cassandra is having one of her daily visions and sees Paris returning with Helen. She sees disaster ahead for Troy. She goes to tell her brother, Helenus, who also has the gift of sight. When Helen does come, Cassandra is afraid, but as the story goes on, it tells about their friendship and troubles. Inside the Walls of Troy now is one of my favorite books to read and I strongly encourage other people to read it. I'm sure you too will love this wonderful book with great vocabulary and will want other people to read it. Clemence McLaren has done a great job of writing Inside the Walls of Troy with facts and a twist of some things she made up. You'll find yourself feeling like you too are part of the book and experiencing the Trojan War.

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Summary: Great introduction into one of history's most famous wars
Review: Clemence McLaren transforms the mythical world of Homer's Trojan War into an easy-to-read story for kids and teenagers.

The book is written in first person point-of-view from the perspectives of two women (pictured on the cover): Helen of Troy and Cassandra, a skilled prophetess. Helen, a Spartan princess renowned as the most beautiful woman in the world, tells her story first. She relates how she was kidnapped by Theseus at age 12, married off to Menelaus upon her arrival back home, and later "kidnapped" again by a Trojan prince named Paris. This second kidnapping sparks the famous Trojan War, at which point the story switches to the viewpoint of Cassandra, a daughter of the Trojan King Priam and a prophetess whom no one but her brother believes. Cassandra takes over the narrative for the rest of the book, telling all about the events of the 10-year war and her role in them.

But Inside the Walls of Troy isn't just about the epic battles. McLaren also turns it into a tale of the fight for freedom and, basically, women's rights. Both Helen and Cassandra rebel against the traditional role of women at the time. Cassandra is especially opposed to getting married just for the sake of strengthening her father's political alliances, and she refuses to sit back and do nothing during the war. An extremely strong-willed character, she fights to protect those she cares about, even up to the very end when Troy burns. For young girls especially, Cassandra is a person one can relate to, since McLaren did an excellent job portraying her as a real multi-dimensional person.

However, there were several flaws in the book. For one thing, McLaren condensed the last few years of the war into only a few pages, making the ending seem rushed. And, besides Cassandra, there were no especially memorable figures. Even the other characters lacked some depth, including Helen. McLaren didn't really spend a lot of time talking about the other women who lived through the war, only mentioning them briefly. Helen and Cassandra were the only two main characters, and Helen came off looking like a brainless romantic ditz.

But despite these flaws, which to less critical readers may be all but undetectable, Inside the Walls of Troy is a treat. It's a great introduction into the world of Greek mythology because it presents a simplified version of the events of the Trojan War while bringing those legendary heroes to life. Well worth the money for any historical-fiction lover.

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Summary: Praise for "Inside the Walls of Troy"
Review: "Inside the Walls of Troy" was my introduction to "through the women's eyes mythology." I absolutely loved it. I didn't want to put it down. I even ignored my teacher to read the next page. When I was reading about these women, I was not in tune with the world around me. All there was was myself, and Helen or Cassandra. I found Cassandra's story especially engrossing.
Her character, was very different. She knew so much, that it was painful not to tell. She wanted to save lives, when noone would let her. At every moment her knowledge turned out to be true, I wanted to say "D'uh!! How blind are you? She said that would happen!"
If this book appealed to you, then I suggest Clemence Mclarens other works: "Waiting for Oddyseus" and especially "Aphrodite's
Blessings"

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Summary: Classical and Sensational Renditoon of the Trojan War
Review: Inside the Walls of Troy is the story of the Trojan War told through the perspectives of two females. It starts off with the beautiful and famous Helen, to which was basis of all this war. From her early childhood to her marriage to Menelaus and finally, her meeting with Paris. The second and for the most part of the story is told through the eyes of Cassandra, Paris' sister and a Trojan Princess who has the Sight. She knows of the coming war and of Helen. However, no one believes her and though at the beginning, she does not want to befriend Helen who has started all the trouble, she does. The two women go through one of the greatest wars in history.

Books narrated by another figure in Historical Fiction are sometimes sidetracked and lack what should be there. This book is an exception. I am dearly in love with the character developpment of Cassandra. I admire her passion and bravery through it all. She has one of the best character developpements I have read. Cassandra's perception is more realistic then Helen's was. McLaren created wonderful characters with depth. Twisting what you would find in the Illiad, this is a very good alternate version of the Trojan War for all ages. If you liked or dislike the Illiad, then you must read this still. If the story does not appeal to you, the style of the writing will.

I cannont stretch how wonderfully told and depicted this book is. It's good for any ages with interest in this classical story.

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Summary: Easy to fall in love with
Review: This book was a spectacular adventure for me. It was very moving and I fell in love with many of the characters. I have read this book way to many times to count and yet I still cry when Hector cries. I love this particular take on the Trojan war and because of this book I have read many other takes and views on the Trojan war yet I still find this one to be the best. Troy comes out in May and even though Brad Pitt and Orlando Bloom is in this movie, I think I will be immensely disappointed because it is not focused on Helen or Cassandra.

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Summary: The Trojan War
Review: This fantastic novel, "Inside The Walls of Troy," is a great example of author Clemence McLaren's unique talent with words. In vivid detail, Helen's thoughts and emotions are described. Then Cassandra, Paris' sister, is set describing HER comments and feelings. All the while, the reader is so wrapped up in the novel that it is nearly impossible to set down. I was especially drawn to Helen, because she experienced so much, and had the weirdest reactions. At one point in the story, she was meeting the suitors that were lined up to marry her. It was interesting to read about how she felt about everyone, and I liked how Clemence McLaren described her as a rather proud, spunky yet thoughtful young-adult. As a class, my peers and I met Mrs. McLaren in person, and talked to her about her novels-especially this one. She was open, friendly, and creative. After meeting her, I realized that her personality really reflected upon her gift of writing, and that is why all her books are spectacular. If you are someone out there that loves Greek Mythology and a breath-taking novel, this is for you!

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Summary: Inside the Walls of Troy--A beautifully written book!
Review: In reading the book, Inside the Walls of Troy, I felt like I was really interacting with the characters. It was a beautifully written story on the Trojan War. Mrs. McLaren is a fantastic writer! In the book, Helen of Sparta is kidnapped at the age of 12, and begins to learn about her "place" in life. She becomes one of the most sought after girls in the world, and finally, Odysseus comes up with a plan to make sure that the "losers" don't rally against the "winner" in the battle over Helen. Thus, the Oath of the Horse is struck, and Helen is given to Menelaus. After several years of living with Menelaus, Helen has a daughter by the name of Hermione. When Hermione is four years old, Paris, a prince of Troy, comes to visit Menelaus. Helen and Paris fall in love with each other and after a few days, Helen leaves with him, on a ship bound for Troy. At this point, the story switches narrators, and becomes narrated by Cassandra, King Priam's daughter, who is a prophetess. Cassandra takes us through the rest of the book, and through the Trojan War. Although the book ends when the Cassandra, Polyxena, Laodice, Andromache and Astyanax are waiting in the temple of Athene, I feel like I have lived with these people all my life, and they are my best friends. Thank you Mrs. McLaren for writing this great and inspirational book!

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Summary: Awful, innacurate, uninspired dreck
Review: I would give it no stars if I could. This tale of Helen of Sparta and King Priam's prophetess daughter Cassandra is not only dreadful in its inconsistencies with the myths but its attempt to sell Helen and Paris as true lovers. Love without trust is sex, which is all that Helen and Paris could truly share. At the wedding of Helen's parents, they neglected to sacrifice to Aphrodite, which is why, since birth, Helen was cursed with infidelity. Who can trust a person who is unfaithful by nature? This book attempts to glamourize one of the most annoying characters in Greek mythology, while making one of the most attractive--Hector's beautiful, intelligent, devoted wife, Andromache--an insufferable, catty brat. In addition, Cassandra was cursed by Apollo in such a way that NO ONE would believe her, something that this book certainly does not convey. The author tries to make her readers care about Helen; meanwhile, she willingly left a good, kind man for a philanderer who agreed to be bribed into presenting the softest, weakest goddess of them all, i.e. Aphrodite, with the apple "For the fairest", in exchange for the body of the world's most beautiful woman. Hollywood films, as well as books like this one, romantacize the story of an adulterous woman who ran to the arms of a coward. The true hero of The Illiad is Hector; Andromache makes a much more suitable heroine than Helen. Not only was Hector the bravest, best of the Trojan warriors, he was the only one of Paris' forty-nine brothers who did not fall in love with Helen immediately, thanks to his love for his wife. Andromache, though she might be out of place in modern society, did not live in modern society. She was a faithful wife to her husband, and only once did she ask him not to fight, for she supported him in every way. (This was right before he died; the scene is depicted in the book.) Had she lived today, she would almost certainly have more of a mind of her own, but that wasn't how women lived. That wasn't how they were raised, and it's silly for modern writers to try to make us think that it wasn't. The way we think is dependent on the way we were raised, and women like Helen and Cassandra were not raised to believe that they should have the right to choose their own husbands. Also, there are many parts of the epilogue that don't really conform to the myths. Yes, according to some, Helen was spared, but many others firmly state that she was murdered by Orestes, Agamemmnon's son, because he blamed her for the war. Agamemmnon, it should be noted, was murdered by his wife and her lover, because she had heard (truthfully) that he had been unfaithful to her, and they were both killed by Orestes and his sister, Electra.
I'm a very willful girl, and I fully appreciate having the ability to speak my mind and marry whomever I would like, but I also have a deep loyalty to the Greek myths, which I have loved since I learned to read, and this book does not do them justice. I highly recommend Edith Hamilton's MYTHOLOGY in place of this story; the myths are rich enough that they don't need fanciful twentieth-century novels to make them enjoyable. This one, at least, is not worth the paper on which it's printed. If you do read it, please read MYTHOLOGY (or at least the parts about the Trojan War) anyway. Also recommended is Bernard Evslin's ENCYCLOPEDIA OF GREEK MYTHOLOGY, or any of the books on the topic by Evslin, Evslin, and Hoopes. They are easier than Ms. Hamilton's works but hers are more thorough. Anyone with interest in this book should read one of the ones I've suggested, which tell the myths as they appear in Homer, as well as other Greek poets and Roman ones as well, such as Virgil. Greek mythology is fascinating in its complexity; there's so much of it and it's so rich, and, once again, this book falls flat of being, well, any good.

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Summary: 5 stars!? This book deserves 5 million stars!
Review: Oh... I couldn't start w/ how much I love this book! I love this book SO SO much!! It's about Helen, queen of Sparta and Cassandra, princess of Troy. The book is based in the Trojan war. It's first told from Helen, who isn't married yet when the book starts. It goes through she gets captured by Thesus, then the whole event of her father choosing her husband. He chooses Menulaus, king of Sparta. Once Helen starts her journey over to Troy w/ Paris, the story goes to Cassandra, told through her eyes. Cassandra is a seer and she sees destruction of her people if Helen comes to Troy. There is nothing she can do to stop it, though and by and by, Cassandra and Helen become friends. This is a beautifully written book and I couldn't put it down! Once I finished it, I thought about it for weeks after and I've read it many, many times. Read this book! A MUST read!!

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Summary: A great book!
Review: This is an absolutely GREAT book! It's told from 2 people, Helen of Sparta and Cassandra, princess of Troy. The first time I read it, I was in utter disbelief of how good it was the whole time! I hardly put it down and I was really sad when the book ended! I wanted it to go on and on forever! I read this book many, many times and it's as good or better every time. This is one of my favorite books and this is one of the first books I'd recomend to anyone. A MUST, MUST read! Read this book!