JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile
This audiobook retells the events of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. “How much epic poetry does the world really need?” the muse Calliope wonders in the opening chapter. She is exasperated by the endless barrage of male poets and their tales of glorious battles. What follows is a collection of wonderfully creative feminist stories, written and narrated by classicist Natalie Haynes. Haynes’s performance is restrained to the point that some listeners may wish for more dramatic flair and differentiation between characters. However, she still imbues these underrepresented female characters with humanity, wit, and strength. She has a good range, too. Some stories—especially those of the Trojan women—are emotionally wrenching. Others, like Penelope’s increasingly frustrated letters to Odysseus, have a distinct comedic touch. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
From the Publisher
"With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War. Her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished." — Madeline Miller, author of Circe
“A Thousand Ships does more than acknowledge the suffering of women. It tells in lively fashion gripping tales of bravery, treachery and revenge. . . . It’s a timely notion as the modern world reckons with who gets to tell the stories of its diverse populations." — Washington Post
“In Natalie Haynes’ own brilliant construction, the 10-year tale of the Trojan War is retold by the many women ignored, widowed, enslaved, heartbroken and snuffed out by the pride and stupidity of warring men…. A fresh and utterly satisfying feminist take on one of the oldest stories in Western literature.” — Melissa Gray, NPR Best Books of the Year
"Savvy and well plotted.… Haynes’s inventiveness in conjuring the lives of Greek and Trojan women through… evocative details keeps the novel humming." — New York Times Book Review
“Absorbing and fiercely feminist . . . this subversive re-seeing of the classics is a many-layered delight.” — Guardian
“A witty, unapologetically feminist story of women’s suffering, courage, and endurance… Haynes' freshly modern version of an ancient tale is perfect for our times.” — Booklist
“An enthralling reimagining of the lives of women from both Troy and Greek culture. . . . Haynes shines by twisting common perceptions of the Trojan War and its aftermath in order to capture the women’s experiences.” — Publishers Weekly
“Clever and entertaining.” — Times, UK
“Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories.” — Telegraph, UK
“This lively reinvention [of the Trojan War] is worth the journey.” — Library Journal
Madeline Miller
"With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War. Her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished."
New York Times Book Review
"Savvy and well plotted.… Haynes’s inventiveness in conjuring the lives of Greek and Trojan women through… evocative details keeps the novel humming."
Washington Post
A Thousand Ships does more than acknowledge the suffering of women. It tells in lively fashion gripping tales of bravery, treachery and revenge. . . . It’s a timely notion as the modern world reckons with who gets to tell the stories of its diverse populations."
Booklist
A witty, unapologetically feminist story of women’s suffering, courage, and endurance… Haynes' freshly modern version of an ancient tale is perfect for our times.
UK Telegraph
Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories.
Guardian
Absorbing and fiercely feminist . . . this subversive re-seeing of the classics is a many-layered delight.
Melissa Gray
In Natalie Haynes’ own brilliant construction, the 10-year tale of the Trojan War is retold by the many women ignored, widowed, enslaved, heartbroken and snuffed out by the pride and stupidity of warring men…. A fresh and utterly satisfying feminist take on one of the oldest stories in Western literature.
UK Times
Clever and entertaining.”
Booklist
A witty, unapologetically feminist story of women’s suffering, courage, and endurance… Haynes' freshly modern version of an ancient tale is perfect for our times.
Washington Post
A Thousand Ships does more than acknowledge the suffering of women. It tells in lively fashion gripping tales of bravery, treachery and revenge. . . . It’s a timely notion as the modern world reckons with who gets to tell the stories of its diverse populations."
UK Telegraph
Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories.
Catherine Nixey
Breathtaking . . . Her writing isn’t merely clever, or elegant, or (at times) extremely funny—though it is all of those things. It’s also viscerally vivid.
Suzannah Lipscomb
Here, in this treat of a book, the women take centre stage—and how brilliantly . . . Natalie Haynes brings them to witty, lyrical, scintillating life . . . A book to both savour and devour.
Michael Scott
A joy to read: fast paced, cracking with emotion and tension.
Library Journal
08/01/2020
Short-listed for Britain's Women's Prize for Fiction and best-booked by the Guardian and the Times Literary Supplement, this reimagining of the Trojan war from the women's perspective displays goddesses, warrior princesses, and women who wait with sharp-tongued feminist bravura. As Haynes says, "This is the women's war, just as much as it is the men's." With a 50,000-copy first printing.
JANUARY 2021 - AudioFile
This audiobook retells the events of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective. “How much epic poetry does the world really need?” the muse Calliope wonders in the opening chapter. She is exasperated by the endless barrage of male poets and their tales of glorious battles. What follows is a collection of wonderfully creative feminist stories, written and narrated by classicist Natalie Haynes. Haynes’s performance is restrained to the point that some listeners may wish for more dramatic flair and differentiation between characters. However, she still imbues these underrepresented female characters with humanity, wit, and strength. She has a good range, too. Some stories—especially those of the Trojan women—are emotionally wrenching. Others, like Penelope’s increasingly frustrated letters to Odysseus, have a distinct comedic touch. A.T.N. © AudioFile 2021, Portland, Maine
