Daughters of Sparta ARC Review

 Daughters of Sparta by Claire Heywood

Publication date: June 22, 2021

Classics, historical fiction

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of Daughters of Sparta in exchange for an honest review.

Daughters of Sparta left me wishing for more, but not in a good way. In the novel, author Claire Heywood imagines how Helen, the queen of Sparta who began the Trojan war, and her sister Klytemnestra, wife of Agamemnon, would have lived prior to and during the war. The story begins with their childhood, then diverges as each sister is led further and further apart in the ancient world.  

For those who are unfamiliar with classical texts like The Iliad, Heywood begins the novel with an opening epigraph to contextualize the events of Daughters of Sparta. I really love this addition because it makes the novel more accessible without having to read through any poetry or tragedies.

Though I have read some classical texts, I think Daughters of Sparta stands on its own as a historical fiction novel rather than a retelling. Unfortunately, I do think this is the book’s detriment, as Heywood’s assertion that Daughters of Sparta aims to fill in the blanks of Helen and Klytemnestra’s stories is undermined by the book’s structure and characterization of well-known characters.

The story spans decades, relying heavily on time jumps. While this can be done well, Heywood prioritizes telling the reader what happened during these time jumps within the text rather than writing scenes that further develop the protagonists. For me, this caused more questions about the characters, and was only worsened by the fact neither character seemed to grow through each new experience. 

Despite falling flat and lacking character growth, Helen and Klytemnesta do portray what life could have been like for Greek women. Heywood’s depiction of the sisters’ marriages offered insight into the lives of wealthy Greek women of the period. For example, Heywood imagines Helen struggling in her role as queen of Sparta and mother to her newborn daughter. Considering women were expected to become mothers, Helen’s conflict within the very role she has been destined to fill since birth questions the role of the idealized wife and mother of the period. 

 

Thematically, I had an issue with the way most characters were put into the category of good or bad without any ambiguity. One of my favourite things about the original texts is the way they can’t necessarily be analyzed from a modern perspective with the concept of good or evil. So to paint some characters as people who can do no wrong while others do bad things for no reason seemed to me as a disservice not only to the Greek texts, but also humans in general. One (non-spoiler) example of this is Klytemnestra’s relationship with her daughter Elektra. In the tragedy Elektra, Klytemnestra and her daughter have a tumultuous relationship to say the least, each spewing hatred towards the other throughout the play. Yet in the third person Daughters of Sparta, Klytemnestra seems like the perfect mother with a moody teenage daughter, lacking any of the tension that comes from imperfect characters. 

Rating 2.5/5: Though Daughters of Sparta answers some of the questions the original tragedies and epics fail to address, the novel raises more questions with its bland take on the classical world. Overall, Daughters of Sparta lacks the strength and power of its source material. I won’t go so far as to say it’s bad or completely unenjoyable as there are some interesting takes about women’s lives in the period, but Daughters of Sparta is dull in comparison to The Iliad, The Oresteia and The Eumenides. 

Given that this is a book about classical period wars, a trigger warning must be given for sexual assault, war brutality, and slavery.