Inside the Walls of Troy: A Novel of the Women Who Lived the Trojan War

by Clemence McLaren

Book Overview

Two women, one war. Helen, at age twelve, is not prepared to deal with her famous beauty: to have the face that will launch a thousand ships, kill fifty thousand men, and cause the fall of the world's... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Mass Market Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0440227496
• ISBN13: 9780440227496
• Release Date: August 1998
• Publisher: Laurel Leaf Library
• Length: 208 Pages
• Weight: 0.25 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.7" x 4.2" x 6.9"
• Age Range: 12 to 17 years
• Grade Range: Grades 7 to 12

Customer Reviews

Inside the Walls of Troy

"Inside the Walls of Troy" is the most wonderful action- filled, heart-touching book about the Greek times I have ever read .It is told by two very different Greek Princesses. The first part of the book is told by Helen of Sparta,who later becames Helen of Troy. Helen's story starts when she is declared the most beautiful, mortal women in all the world. At twelve she is kidnapped by pirates. When she is finally returned to her father, many men want her hand in marrige. Her father chooses a nobleman named Menelaus,who she is forced to marry. Soon after, Helen fell deeply in love with Menelaus'good friend named Paris and runs away to Troy with him. The second part of the book is told by Cassandra, Paris' sister. She tells about the war between Sparta and Troy .This war was fought because Paris would not give Helen back to her husband, Menelaus.If there was one thing I could change it would be to make the book longer. I loved it and recommend it highly.

Inside the Walls of Troy

Inside the Walls of Troy is a fascinating novel for young readers who love historical fiction. I bought this book out of a Scholastic magazine and fell in love with it! When I need a great book to read, I always turn to Inside the Walls of Troy. It is a wonderful story because it gives you two differant perspectives: one of the 12 year old princess, Helen of Sparta, the most beautiful woman in the world. The other is from a 19 year old girl named Cassandra, who foresees the future. If you love romances, war stories, and mysteries, you will love Inside the Walls of Troy!!!

Inside the Walls of Troy Review

My sixth grade class at Laurel School read Inside the Walls of Troy. Before that, we had just finished reading a book about Troy and the Trojan War. Our class did have an idea of who the characters where, but we didn't know too much about the women. Inside the Walls of Troy gave us a great picture of how the women lived and felt during this awful war. There was Cassandra, a seer, who was supposedly given the gift of "sight" by the god of music, Apollo. There was also Helen, the most beautiful women in the world who was married off to Menelaus, an ugly, hairy armed, loving man. These are the two main women in this book and there are actually two parts about them. You start off with Helen being the main character. In this part, you start off with Helen living in Sparta with her sister Penelope and her maid Hessia. Theseus comes and kidnaps Helen and tries to show her how to be a proper lady. Helen is thirteen at the time and her brothers come and save her. When she goes home, suitors await her all wanting her hand in marriage. Everyone is in awe over Helen's beauty and have to make the vow of the horse not to hurt or kill her husband or any of his family. Helen marries Menelaus and they become rulers of Sparta. After a while, they have their first child, Hermione who Menelaus adores. Menelaus invites a Trojan to maybe make a truce over brewing trade problems. Paris came and ends up running away with Helen. They flee to Troy where they plan to live happily ever after. In the second part, which is more about Cassandra, Cassandra is having one of her daily visions and sees Paris returning with Helen. She sees disaster ahead for Troy. She goes to tell her brother, Helenus, who also has the gift of sight. When Helen does come, Cassandra is afraid, but as the story goes on, it tells about their friendship and troubles. Inside the Walls of Troy now is one of my favorite books to read and I strongly encourage other people to read it. I'm sure you too will love this wonderful book with great vocabulary and will want other people to read it. Clemence McLaren has done a great job of writing Inside the Walls of Troy with facts and a twist of some things she made up. You'll find yourself feeling like you too are part of the book and experiencing the Trojan War.

This book deserves more recognition!

This was one of the most fantastic books I have ever read. As a fervent feminist and lover of Greek mythology and history, this book appealled to me from all aspects. It re-tells the Trojan War from the viewpoint of Cassandra and Helen. No one knows what the women were really like, but Clemence McLaren did an excellent job in making them appear three-dimensional and realistic. All our records of the war (e.g. Homer) have discussed the men. It's time the women got some recognition! Anyway, this was an amazing book. I recommend you read it. You may cry at the end.

The true story of Helen and her prince, Paris

The novel is about History, Valor and love. It focus's mainly on the women how lived during the trojan war and their lives, decisions, and Honour. Helen of sparta, could have had any thing she wanted, except the one thing she wanted, love. Cassanndra has visions of the future and know's that Helen will bring war to Troy, but still she finds comfort and love in Helen. The book tells of these two women and their lives and believes. It's the best book I've read in years!