Genre Fiction
![Costanza Casati - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_B07FYR9NRL.jpg)
Clytemnestra: A Novel
"Fans of Circe and Elektra should pick up this powerful Greek myth retelling." ―Cosmopolitan
For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.
As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best…
You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.
But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice.
Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So, you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did.
If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.
A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
"Crackles with vivid fury, passion, and strength." ―Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Elektra and Ariadne
For fans of Madeline Miller, a stunning debut following Clytemnestra, the most notorious villainess of the ancient world and the events that forged her into the legendary queen.
As for queens, they are either hated or forgotten. She already knows which option suits her best…
You were born to a king, but you marry a tyrant. You stand by helplessly as he sacrifices your child to placate the gods. You watch him wage war on a foreign shore, and you comfort yourself with violent thoughts of your own. Because this was not the first offence against you. This was not the life you ever deserved. And this will not be your undoing. Slowly, you plot.
But when your husband returns in triumph, you become a woman with a choice.
Acceptance or vengeance, infamy follows both. So, you bide your time and force the gods' hands in the game of retribution. For you understood something long ago that the others never did.
If power isn't given to you, you have to take it for yourself.
A blazing novel set in the world of Ancient Greece, this is a thrilling tale of power and prophecies, of hatred, love, and of an unforgettable Queen who fiercely dealt out death to those who wronged her.
"Crackles with vivid fury, passion, and strength." ―Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Elektra and Ariadne
Editorial Reviews
Goodreads' Buzziest Debuts of 2023
POPSUGAR's Best Historical Fiction of 2023
The Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Books of 2023
"Propulsive...richly drawn and lovingly rendered, Casati's Clystemnestra is a brilliant, fierce woman placed, again and again, in untenable circumstances. Readers who are enjoying the current plethora of mythological retellings won't want to miss this absorbing examination of a complicated queen." ― Booklist, STARRED review
"A great literary achievement that gives voice to characters who, due to their genders, have been vilified and silenced throughout the millennia...Clytemnestra is a literary tour de force―a novel of passion and vengeance set in Ancient Greece." ― Foreword Reviews, STARRED review
"Casati makes this grim tale feel fresh through vivid imagery and nuanced characterizations. It's sure to please fans of the revisionist genre." ― Publishers Weekly
"A dazzling portrait of Clytemnestra...an outstanding portrait in humanity, motherhood, sisterhood, grief, loss and revenge." ― Historical Novel Society
"Her rendition of this lost-to-history female figure is a fiercely intelligent and brave warrior queen that you'll find yourself rooting for regardless of whether you're usually into classical mythology or not." ― Savvymom
"In Casati's strong and immersive debut there are no gods, no heroes, no monsters. There are just humans, driven by their passions and frailties." ― The Times
"Casati's imagery was so expansive and imaginative. It utterly swept me into the story, conjuring the poetic epics of the original myths. The writing is lush and immersive, allowing you to lose yourself in this ancient world…. I was so deeply invested in these rich, nuanced characters that I will not be forgetting any time soon." ― The Nerd Daily
"Crackles with vivid fury, passion and strength. A powerful, thought-provoking portrayal of a fascinating and complicated woman framed in beautiful prose. I loved it." ― Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne and
POPSUGAR's Best Historical Fiction of 2023
The Nerd Daily's Most Anticipated Books of 2023
"Propulsive...richly drawn and lovingly rendered, Casati's Clystemnestra is a brilliant, fierce woman placed, again and again, in untenable circumstances. Readers who are enjoying the current plethora of mythological retellings won't want to miss this absorbing examination of a complicated queen." ― Booklist, STARRED review
"A great literary achievement that gives voice to characters who, due to their genders, have been vilified and silenced throughout the millennia...Clytemnestra is a literary tour de force―a novel of passion and vengeance set in Ancient Greece." ― Foreword Reviews, STARRED review
"Casati makes this grim tale feel fresh through vivid imagery and nuanced characterizations. It's sure to please fans of the revisionist genre." ― Publishers Weekly
"A dazzling portrait of Clytemnestra...an outstanding portrait in humanity, motherhood, sisterhood, grief, loss and revenge." ― Historical Novel Society
"Her rendition of this lost-to-history female figure is a fiercely intelligent and brave warrior queen that you'll find yourself rooting for regardless of whether you're usually into classical mythology or not." ― Savvymom
"In Casati's strong and immersive debut there are no gods, no heroes, no monsters. There are just humans, driven by their passions and frailties." ― The Times
"Casati's imagery was so expansive and imaginative. It utterly swept me into the story, conjuring the poetic epics of the original myths. The writing is lush and immersive, allowing you to lose yourself in this ancient world…. I was so deeply invested in these rich, nuanced characters that I will not be forgetting any time soon." ― The Nerd Daily
"Crackles with vivid fury, passion and strength. A powerful, thought-provoking portrayal of a fascinating and complicated woman framed in beautiful prose. I loved it." ― Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne and
Readers Top Reviews
Claire hershmanC Wil
Unfortunately this is a rather boring book. Loads of back story about the imagined relationship between the sisters. If you are as interested in Greek drama as I am this writer is not mary Renault or Euripides Over rated M
Whiskey in the Jar
There is no peace for a woman with ambition Known as the daughter of King Tyndareus and Leda, twin sister of Helen, princess of Sparta, and eventual wife of Agamemnon and Queen of Mycenae, Clytemnestra has been portrayed as a schemer and murderer. Following, fairly faithfully, to the works of Aeschylus, the author takes these Greek mythology tales and gives us a historical fiction feeling story that colors in all those spaces between the better known highlights, such as the Trojan War. I enjoyed how this take stripped away the more mythology fantasy elements and focused on seeing these characters from their mortal human sides. Clytemnestra doesn't necessarily believe in the Gods but subsequently finds her life impacted by them all the same because of the “Gods will” delivered through the all too human priestess and priests. Is this what happens when one falls in love and marries? Clytemnestra wonders. Is this what a woman gives up? All her life she has been taught courage, strength, resilience, but must those qualities be kept at bay with a husband? Divided up into five parts, the first starts off with a movie 300 like scene of Clytemnestra hunting a lynx and showing how she was raised in Sparta. It lays the ground work for how Clytemnestra will think further on in the story, her warrior mentality and always seeing herself on equal footing with men. The family dynamics of her mother drinking away her pain, closeness with siblings, and how it does seem that Clytemnestra is their father's favorite. Clytemnestra's, probably more known, sister Helen, also features predominately, which does make sense as the Trojan War plays a large role. Part one ends with Clytemnestra marrying for love. “You must learn your place among men, Clytemnestra,” he says. His words are whips, slashing at her hurting throat. “You are too proud, too arrogant.” Part two starts with Clytemnestra pregnant and her husband gone back to his kingdom to prepare them for her arrival. It also gives us the arrival of brothers Menelaus and Agamemnon, they lost their kingdom to a traitor and are looking for help from Sparta. This part shows how Agamemnon wants Clytemnestra and the underling sense of trouble brewing for our lead character Clytemnestra, but not to be missed, is how his brother Menelaus wants Helen and when she picks him as her husband, the other rejected men were forced to agree to a pact to support whoever she picked as husband. A pact that obviously comes back to play a huge part in why Greece went to war. We also get an introduction to Odysseus and his eventual romance with Clytemnestra's cousin Penelope, you've maybe heard of them? This part ends with the murder of Clytemnestra's husband and baby and her marriage to Agamemnon. Since the family dynamics were so well explored in the first part, the betrayal from Clytemnestra's father is re...
