Cassandra

Hilary Bailey re-invents the history of the Trojan Wars and tells a new story of Cassandra. Legend has it that Cassandra died at the hand of Clytemnestra, but in this novel she escapes to a farm in Thessaly, and writes her own account of the fall of Troy. On a quiet farm in ancient Greece, an aging widow sits down to write her story. Now that the war is over, and has been for years, and her husband has passed away, and her daughter has married and moved on, she believes it is finally safe to write down the truth of who she is: not Iphianissa of Tolos, a Greek, but rather Princess Cassandra, daughter of King Priam, of Troy. Cassandra's story is a retelling of the Trojan War, from the viewpoint of a young girl, sister of Hector and Paris. In her imaginative and vivid novel, Hilary Bailey recounts the tale of the young prophetess whom legend assumed dead: her childhood tutelage by the Oracle at Delphi; her adoration for her handsome older brothers; and, finally, her escape from embattled Troy. Now, ensconced in the Greek countryside under an assumed identity, Cassandra thinks she's safe to tell her story; little does she know, someone from her fraught past has tracked her down, and she discovers that her story is far from over. First published in 1993 and effortlessly weaving together Cassandra's memories of the war with her present life and the secrets she uncovers, Bailey tells the reader a gripping story of war, love, and human sacrifice.