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A Thousand Ships

A Gripping Feminist Retelling of the Trojan War, Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

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About this listen

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

Powerfully read by the author, Natalie Haynes. From a powerful all-female perspective, in A Thousand Ships, classicist and author of Divine Might, Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War – putting the women, girls and goddesses at the centre of the story.

Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller’s The Song of Achilles and Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls.

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women embroiled in the legendary war.

'With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War' – Madeline Miller, author of Circe

'A many-layered delight' – The Guardian

'A gripping feminist masterpiece' – Deborah Frances-White, The Guilty Feminist

 Fantasy Fiction Historical Fiction Women's Fiction Magic Heartfelt Thought-Provoking Ancient Greece Ancient History War

Critic reviews

With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Haynes gives much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War. Her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished (Madeline Miller, author of Circe)
Natalie Haynes is swiftly becoming this generation’s Mary Renault; her retelling of the Trojan war from an all-female perspective, A Thousand Ships, is her best yet.
Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories
Absorbing and fiercely feminist
The forgotten women are vividly brought to life in this moving, intelligent and witty book (Martha Kearney, BBC Radio 4)
Elegant, intelligent . . . Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative
A joy to read: fast paced, cracking with emotion and tension (Professor Michael Scott)
Here, in this treat of a book, the women take centre stage - and how brilliantly . . . Natalie Haynes brings them to witty, lyrical, scintillating life . . . A book to both savour and devour (Suzannah Lipscomb)
Breathtaking . . . Her writing isn’t merely clever, or elegant, or (at times) extremely funny - though it is all of those things. It’s also viscerally vivid. (Catherine Nixey)
This subversive reseeing of the classics is a many-layered delight
Haynes takes the baton from Renault and runs with it. Her modern take on antiquity is exquisitely informed without ever being research-heavy . . . Glorious! (Damien Barr)
If you are new to myths, then this is a learned, well-fashioned introduction, with many shining moments of subtle power
Haynes expertly crafts an emotional and vivid historical tale with high stakes and female empowerment at its core
Haynes is the nation’s great muse, and her latest retelling of the story of Troy told from the perspective of Helen and the women of The Iliad is beautiful (Adam Rutherford)
Natalie Haynes is a clever, classy classicist, and her book turns the Trojan War into a gripping feminist masterpiece (Deborah Frances-White)
A collection of wonderfully creative feminist stories, written and narrated by classicist Natalie Haynes. . . She. . . imbues these underrepresented female characters with humanity, wit, and strength. She has a good range, too. Some stories--especially those of the Trojan women--are emotionally wrenching. Others, like Penelope's increasingly frustrated letters to Odysseus, have a distinct comedic touch.
All stars
Most relevant
This is very similar in tone and story to ‘The Silence of the Girls, by Pat Barker. It’s not as good as Bsrker’s telling of the fall if Troy. But still interesting. I found the authors narration very flat, toneless. It did nothing to bring the story to life. So, a good book, but should have been spoken by an actor to bring all the different women to life.

Good story but poorly narrated

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I loved the idea behind this book, to bring the women of Greek epic poetry into the light. And I loved the writing. Unfortunately I struggled a bit with the narration and felt there was not enough light and shade and not enough differentiation between the characters. Even so I would recommend this audiobook for the writing and for the breadth of knowledge of antique poetry

Ancient Greek Women Brought to Life

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I heard this book discussed on Woman's Hour. really glad I gave it a try,

can be listened to story by story or as a long listen.

brings the time and the people to life, even if ancient greece is not your thing.

Great story written with knowledge.

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We enjoy the Natalie Haynes "Stand up for the Classics" programmes and so were keen to try this book. First thing to say, it is not a comedy although there are some very sharply observed ironic comments. Of course it is a re-examination of ancient Greek history and culture from a female standpoint. That said, it is not written with an overtly feminist agenda and is more dispassionate than many of the other recent books on similar themes from Greek history (legend?) written from the female point of view.
Our enjoyment was increased by the fact that we were familiar with Homer and many of the Greek tragedies. This book from Natalie Haynes with her female narratives may well increase your own enjoyment of the Greek classics, as it has ours.

Three thousand years later the women speak

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This really should have been narrated by a professional narrator. Narrator sounds bored and breathes really loudly down the microphone.

Good story, terrible narration

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