March 2012 Feature of the Month: Trojan War Month

annis · Post by **annis** » Sat March 31st, 2012, 8:03 am

I remain grateful to the English teacher who bundled my class into a bus and carted us all off to see an amazing live production of Aristophanes' Lysistrata -certainly opened ny eyes to the wonders of ancient Greek drama!

One last Trojan War novel before the month comes to a close
Ken Catran's The Golden Prince- a compelling YA novel about Achilles' son Pyrrhus- grittily realistic and evocative. Catran did another YA novel in the same style about Jason and the Argonauts called Voyage with Jason.

lauragill · Post by **lauragill** » Sat March 31st, 2012, 9:08 am

[quote=""annis""]I remain grateful to the English teacher who bundled my class into a bus and carted us all off to see an amazing live production of Aristophanes' Lysistrata -certainly opened ny eyes to the wonders of ancient Greek drama!

One last Trojan War novel before the month comes to a close
Ken Catran's The Golden Prince- a compelling YA novel about Achilles' son Pyrrhus- grittily realistic and evocative. Catran did another YA novel in the same style about Jason and the Argonauts called Voyage with Jason.[/quote]

The Golden Prince sounds interesting. Do you know, by any chance, how much the narrative covers? Pyrrhus didn't live a long life, so I was wondering if it ends with his death.

annis · Post by **annis** » Sat March 31st, 2012, 8:02 pm

The story ends just after the fall of Troy, but the epilogue is written as he is dying. Despite Pyrrhus' part in the war being a relatively short one, Catran manages to create a solid story from it, of a boy who must quickly become a man and live up to the expectations of the son of a hero. It starts with wily Odysseus' visit to Pythia to entice Pyrrhus away and the voyage to Troy.

boswellbaxter · Post by **boswellbaxter** » Sun April 1st, 2012, 2:30 pm

This has been a great thread! Thanks so much to lauragill for getting it going.

Nefret · Post by **Nefret** » Sun April 1st, 2012, 3:24 pm

It was cool. I'm still in The War at Troy though.

fljustice · Post by **fljustice** » Sun April 1st, 2012, 3:46 pm

[quote=""boswellbaxter""]This has been a great thread! Thanks so much to lauragill for getting it going.[/quote]

Ditto. Thanks, Laura for a fascinating look at Troy!

burlgirl · Post by **burlgirl** » Fri April 13th, 2012, 3:50 pm

I'm distressed I miss this whole thread in March! What a wonderful one it was. I've created a hopelessly long list of things to be read. Lauragill, thanks for all of your hard work, and any NF you'd care to share beyond what you have I will eagerly read. I like to mix up my reading between NF and fiction, and often time the fiction sparks a long list of NF reads.

I leave this thread happy and eager to ditch my weekend housework in order to read. I know I'd get the stink eye from DH, but it just might be worth it!

lauragill · Post by **lauragill** » Fri April 13th, 2012, 4:59 pm

[quote=""burlgirl""]I'm distressed I miss this whole thread in March! What a wonderful one it was. I've created a hopelessly long list of things to be read. Lauragill, thanks for all of your hard work, and any NF you'd care to share beyond what you have I will eagerly read. I like to mix up my reading between NF and fiction, and often time the fiction sparks a long list of NF reads.

I leave this thread happy and eager to ditch my weekend housework in order to read. I know I'd get the stink eye from DH, but it just might be worth it![/quote]

This thread and the discussion is still open.

What sort of NF are you interested in?

annis · Post by **annis** » Tue April 17th, 2012, 7:10 pm

I was just looking through my Far Side collection and came across this one.

Stuff they leave out of heroic legends

rockygirl · Post by **rockygirl** » Fri June 8th, 2012, 3:40 am

Gotta love Gary Larson!

I'd like to add this three YA titles, which I would describe as Trojan War related.

Nobody's Princess and Nobody's Prize by Esther Friesner--Primarily a fantasy writer, Friesner has been trying her hand at historical fiction lately. These two books are about the adolescence of Helen. The stories are from her imagination, but she portrays Helen as a determined young woman, and that's not a bad thing. If nothing else, will interest middle school girls in the Trojan War.

Dateline: Troy by Paul Fleischman--I used to use this book when I was teaching world history in school. Looks at the "headlines" of the Trojan War and compares them to headlines from more modern wars. A thoughtful book that's great for discussion with the age group.