Lavinia: A compulsive, heart-breaking historical romance

Ursula K. Le Guin

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She chose love. The price she paid was war.

A stunning combination of history and mythology - 'an intriguing, luxuriously realised novel' FINANCIAL TIMES

READERS on LAVINIA:

'Utterly compelling'

'Clever twist'

'Super'

'Like Spartan Helen, I caused a war. She caused hers by letting men who wanted her take her. I caused mine because I wouldn't be given, wouldn't be taken, but chose my man and my fate'

Lavinia is the daughter of the King of Latium, a victorious warrior who loves peace; she is her father's closest companion. Now of an age to wed, Lavinia's mother favours her own kinsman, handsome, heroic, everything a young girl should want. Instead, Lavinia dreams of mighty Aeneas, a man she has heard of only from a ghost of a poet, who comes to her in the gods' holy place and tells her of her future, and Aeneas' past... If she refuses to wed her mother's choice, Lavinia knows she will start a war...

'Subtly moving, playful...a novel that brought me to tears more than once. Lavinia is a delightful heroine' GUARDIAN

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Praise for Lavinia: A compulsive, heart-breaking historical romance

  • Subtly moving, playful...a novel that brought me to tears more than once. Lavinia is a delightful heroine - GUARDIANBeautiful and moving...Highly recommended - LIBRARY JOURNALElegant and eloquent - ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLYCompulsively readable...a winning combination of history and mythology featuring an unlikely heroine imaginatively plucked from literary obscurity - BOOKLISTA superbly researched, beautifully written, profound and moving novel - CATHOLIC HERALDThe focus on the women's side of the house...serves to give them rightful prominence within the fabric of a society where men are second in command only to fate...Le Guin [makes] mythology tangible, exciting and a surprising joy to read - SCOTLAND ON SUNDAY

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Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin

Ursula K. Le Guin (1929-2018) was a celebrated author whose body of work includes 23 novels, 12 volumes of short stories, 11 volumes of poetry, 13 children's books, five essay collections, and four works of translation. The breadth and imagination of her work earned her six Nebula Awards, seven Hugo Awards, and SFWA's Grand Master, along with the PEN/Malamud and many other awards. In 2014 she was awarded the National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters, and in 2016 joined the short list of authors to be published in their lifetimes by the Library of America.

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