A hardcover omnibus edition of the two classic novels in which Mary
Renault brilliantly recreated the legendary hero Theseus and his defeat
of the Minotaur. CONTEMPORARY CLASSICS.
In her inventive novels of ancient Greece, Mary Renault performs the
alchemical feats of fashioning from the myth of Theseus a convincingly
flawed hero and of weaving a thrillingly plausible account of the events
that inspired the fantastical tale of the Labyrinth and the Minotaur.
The King Must Die follows young Theseus from his mystery-shrouded
birth and youthful insecurity about his small size, through his growing
strength and ingenuity to a dawning belief in his destiny. When teenaged
Theseus sets out to join his true father, the King of Athens, he is
delayed by unforeseen adventures: first by a perilous forced sojourn in
the matriarchal society of Eleusis and next when he volunteers to join
the annual tribute of Athenian youths sent to be sacrificed to a
bull-worshipping cult on the island of Crete. Once trapped in the
labyrinthine palace of King Minos, Theseus enlists the help of the high
priestess Ariadne in a daring plan to free the Athenians forever from
the dominance of Crete.
The Bull from the Sea begins after Theseus's triumphal return to
Athens, where he finds that his father has died and he is now king. But
his confidence in his divinely ordained destiny will be shaken by the
adventures yet ahead of him: a life-changing encounter with Hippolyta,
queen of the Amazons; the birth of a son who will insist on choosing his
own path; and the tragic results of his wife Phaedra's treachery.
Combining her deep understanding of the cultures of the ancient Greek
world with inspired speculation, Renault brings the heroes and monsters
of legend enthrallingly to life.
Everyman's Library pursues the highest production standards, printing on
acid-free cream-colored paper, with full-cloth cases with two-color foil
stamping, decorative endpapers, silk ribbon markers, European-style
half-round spines, and a full-color illustrated jacket. Contemporary
Classics include an introduction, a select bibliography, and a
chronology of the author's life and times.
