We're all familiar with the basic story of the Trojan War: gorgeous Helen is kidnapped from Sparta, launching a years-long war that ended when the Spartans smuggled themselves into the walled city of Troy in the belly of a huge wooden horse. That's the basic arc, sure, but Daughters of Sparta goes deeper, delving into the lives of Helen and her sister Klymenestra, who were married off when they were barely teens and forced to live away from their family, with much older men who ruled every element of their lives.
This is a fascinating view of the Trojan War and the actions that led to it, told from the point of view of the women — Klymenestra, who had no chance to save her sister, her daughter, or herself from her fate, and Helen, whose guilt over inadvertently launching the war eats away at her while her paramour Paris sees her only as another possession. I'll readily admit that I'm not usually much a fan of stories from this era, but Heywood brings it all to life and illustrates Klymenestra and Helen's lives so powerfully that I absolutely loved this book.
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