Mary Renault lived in the past too.

As I was writing out my list of favorite books (ont the right), Mary Renault’s six historical Greek novels just flew off my keyboard first. I had never really listed favorite books before, at least not in print or rather virtual print. Odd, I thought. All about Ancient Greece. I thought back, the first book I remember reading was the child’s version of the Trojan War. The Iliad minus the rivers of blood and babies bashed against the walls of Troy. When I was 13 my uncle gave me the annotated History of Greece by J.B. Bury. I have it still. So, when I got a few years older I found the Last of the Wine. It was a story about a young man about the same age as I, living in the shadow of war. I was registered for the draft, It was during the Vietnam conflict, so there were some similarities. I read the book. I loved it. I trusted Mary Renault as a writer so I read another and loved it too. Each one chronicles an actual person of substance during the classical period. In the Praise Singer it is Simonides, the Greek poet who lived into his eighties and gave us an astonishing sense of ancient Greek life in moments of transition: "Stranger, tell the Spartans that we lie here, obedient to our laws". The Last of the Wine, is the story of Alexias of Athens, a young man caught up in the great war between Sparta and Athens. In the background of his story we meet Alkibiades, Sokrates, and the young Plato. The Mask of Apollo chronicles the life of the older Plato from the viewpoint of an Athenian Actor. It is also a wonderful imagining of life on the ancient Greek theatre circuit. Fire from Heaven tells the story of Alexander of Macedon’s youth, well imagined and told with authority even though we know little about Alexander’s early years. It is also the first of her Greek historical novels told in the third person. The Persian Boy is perhaps her most famous novel. It tells the story of Alexander’s campaigns against Persia, Bactria, and India from the viewpoint of a beautiful young eunuch of the Persian court captured by Alexander. Funeral Games was Mary Renault’s last novel. Ironic title – she was to die less than two years later. Here she returned to third person narrative with an impossible task of how to make sense of the confusion following Alexander’s death. She comes remarkably close to succeeding. Her portrayal of Arrhidaeus, Alexander’s half-brother, and his full sister Kleopatra are genuinely moving.
Another reason I love these books is the economy, consistency, and excellence of writing – the craftsmanship. There is no evidence she belonged to a writers group (I need a writer’s group!) nor is there evidence that she required copious editing after the novels were complete (I need humongous editing, being a prolific over-writer). Yet, despite her success, her writing never became bloated. Her discipline is as obvious in her last novel as it is in her first of the list - and that covers a time span of twenty-five years. Gore Vidal called her writing sentimental. I’ve thought long and hard about that and I think he is right. (But, not until I read Vidal’s Julian for the second time) I think, it adds humanity to her storytelling, characters come to life. My brain appreciates Vidal’s ability to produce such a crystalline neutral viewpoint. My heart loves Mary Renault’s stories.