For the most beautiful - Emily Hauser

Three thousand years ago a war took place that gave birth to legends - to Achilles, the greatest of the Greeks, and Hector, prince of Troy. It was a war that shook the very foundations of the world. But what if there was more to this epic conflict? What if there was another, hidden tale of the Trojan War?

Now is the time for the women of Troy to tell their story.

Thrillingly imagined and startlingly original, For the Most Beautiful reveals the true story of true for the first time. The story of Krisayis, daughter of the Trojans' High Priest, and of Briseis, princess of Pedasus, who fight to determine the fate of a city and its people in this ancient time of mischievous gods and mythic heroes.

In this novel full of passion and revenge, loyalty and betrayal, bravery and sacrifice, Emily Hauser breathes exhilarating new life into one of the greatest legends of all - in a tale that has waited millennia to be told.

'Brings ancient Troy wildly, raucously, passionately alive' Manda Scott, author of Boudica

Born in Brighton and brought up in Suffolk, EMILY HAUSER studied Classics at Cambridge, where she was taught by Mary Beard, and completed a PhD at Yale University. She is now a Junior Fellow at Harvard University. For the Most Beautiful - the first book in the Golden Apple trilogy - was her debut novel and retells the story of the siege of Troy. Her second, For the Winner, is a reimagining of the myth of Atalanta and the legend of Jason, the Argonauts and the search for the Golden Fleece.

"Once in a while something comes along that's so utterly right, so necessary for now, that you wonder why nobody thought of it before. Emily Hauser's stunning debut novel . . . brings ancient Troy wildly, raucously, passionately alive and tells at last the stories of those who really mattered."
MANDA SCOTT, bestselling author of Boudica and Into the Fire

"A feast for the senses, richly described and effortlessly easy to read. It brings to life an ancient world long gone, and in so doing reminds us of the traumas and costs of war, which are sadly still so much a part of our world today."
MICHAEL SCOTT, presenter of Rome's Invisible City

"A delight from start to finish. Hauser's fresh perspective on one of the great archetypal epics, in focusing on the marginalised women's stories, makes for fascinating reading . . . a clever premise and a thoroughly enjoyable."
ELIZABETH FREMANTLE, author of Sisters of Treason

"In her sparkling debut novel classicist Emily Hauser offers a fresh take on the old but living legend spun so artfully in Homer's Iliad . . . tells a ripping good story."
PAUL CARTLEDGE, Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge

"A brilliant re-imagining of the Iliad, faithful to the original yet completely accessible . . . the two young women at the centre of the drama are faithfully representative of their time and place yet feel compellingly contemporary . . . Emily Hauser has given us a lively new take on a classic."
TERRY HAWKINS, author of The Rage of Achilles

"Fascinating . . . highly convincing . . . a familiar tale told in an unfamiliar way. Presenting the story from the point of view of the women, rather than the warriors, gives Hauser's novel real edge and originality."
BBC HISTORY MAGAZINE - Nick Rennison

"Intensely described . . . there is no doubting Hauser's passionate involvement with, and knowledge of, her subject."
DAILY MAIL - Elizabeth Buchan

"Breathing life into these bit-part characters . . . written with energy and passion."
THE TIMES - Antonia Senior

"A new, feminine perspective on the events of the Iliad . . . a colourful tale of gods and mortals."
SUNDAY TIMES

"This elegant, warm novel moves between two great Trojan beauties . . .through their stories, we witness both sides of this titanic war while feminine beauty and masculine martial prowess compete for the attention of the reader and the gods."
SUNDAY EXPRESS