The Voyage Home

The Women of Troy and the Silence of the Girls is a thrilling follow-up to Pat Barker's The Women of Troy and The Silence of the Girls, set in ancient Greece. It follows the stories of Cassandra, a prophetess enslaved as a concubine to King Agamemnon, and Ritsa, her watchful maid. Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks, including Cassandra and Ritsa. Queen Clytemnestra, vengeful wife of Agamemnon, is awaiting the fleets return and is plotting retribution in a palace haunted by child-ghosts. The book is an unflinching guide for a trip across ancient Greece, conjuring up a world stained by the grief of mothers and daughters.

Format: Hardback
Length: 304 pages
Publication date: 22 August 2024
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd

THE EXHILARATING FOLLOW-UP TO PAT BARKER'S THE WOMEN OF TROY AND THE SILENCE OF THE GIRLS After ten blood-filled years, the war is over. Troy lies in smoking ruins as the victorious Greeks fill their ships with the spoils of battle. Alongside the treasures looted are the many Trojan women captured by the Greeks – among them the legendary prophetess Cassandra, and her watchful maid, Ritsa. Enslaved as a concubine – war-wife – to King Agamemnon, Cassandra is plagued by visions of his death – and her own – while Ritsa is forced to bear witness to both Cassandra's frenzies and the horrors to come. Meanwhile, awaiting the fleet's return is Queen Clytemnestra, vengeful wife of Agamemnon. Heart-shattered by her husband's choice to sacrifice their eldest daughter to the gods in exchange for a fair wind to Troy, she has spent this long decade plotting retribution, in a palace haunted by child-ghosts. As one wife journeys toward the other, united by the vision of Agamemnons death, one thing is certain: this long-awaited homecoming will change everyone's fates forever. 'The queen of literary historical fiction, Barker is an unflinching guide for a trip across ancient Greece,' writes National Geographic. 'In her thrilling retelling of the stories of Cassandra and Clytemnestra, Barker conjures up a world stained by the grief of mothers and daughters. Agamemnon's palace is the stuff of nightmares, a world of suspicion and fear, plagued by the ghosts of innocents,' writes Paula Hawkins. 'You go to her for plain truths, a driving storyline, and a clear eye, steadily facing the history of our world,' writes the Guardian. 'Instant Sunday Times bestseller, August 2024.'

Weight: 504g
Dimension: 163 x 242 x 33 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780241568248