Set just before the Greek War of Independence, this is the story of Lady Claire Pheland who believes the ancient Greek statues were once vividly painted and sets out to prove it. She travels to Greece in the company of Lord Theseus Ashworth, who intends to return his father’s Greek sculptures to their rightful home. Claire and Theseus both love all things Greek and share their passion for the “marbles” engaging in a lively banter from the beginning.
It’s clear the author has done much research into Greek mythology and statues, which I appreciate, and there is a lot of Greece’s history and information about the “marbles” that are such a significant part of Greek art in the story. (A glossary of terms would have been helpful as there are many technical terms.) The story is well-written, and the romance develops naturally while they are in Greece.
Some delightful characters—Theseus’ sister, Penny, and Claire’s aunt among them—enrich the story. And there is a bit of fantasy with a suddenly appearing vision of a woman, presumably the mythical Pythia, the oracle at Delphi. And in the last half of the book, there is danger and excitement enough for anyone as Claire is several times attacked.
Midway through the book other people show up and this becomes more so toward the end of the book. It seems they were from earlier books, hence I recommend reading the series in order.
No comments:
Post a Comment