This is a very peculiar book. It is almost all dialog and almost all set in one place – Menelaus’s house in Sparta. Everything that happens during the course of the novel, happens elsewhere and is reported back to the main characters. It reads much more like a radio play than a novel.
cover of the American first edition.
The book deals with how Helen, Menelaus and their daughter Hermione deal with Helen’s final return to Sparta after the Trojan War and the impact of her return on all their relationships. It is often very funny and feels very modern for 1925, let alone for Anciet Greece. . It’s a very feminist book, exploring the role of men and women, of marriage and gender politics.
It was the best selling novel in America in 1926.
