The result of the latest Classics Club Spin has been revealed today.
The idea of the Spin was to list twenty books from my Classics Club list, number them 1 to 20, and the number announced by the Classics Club represents the book I have to read before 5th July 2026. The number that has been selected is…
9
And this means the book I need to read is…
The Persian Boy by Mary Renault
Bagoas, abducted as a boy and sold as a eunuch, has been transported to the heart of the Persian court as courtesan to King Darius. But when the Macedon army conquers his homeland, Bagoas finds freedom at the hands of their golden young commander, whose name is already becoming a legend: Alexander.
Their encounter sparks a passionate devotion that shapes the Persian boy’s future – and deepens into a relationship that will sustain them both through assassination plots, political intrigue and the threat of Alexander’s own restless ambition. This is a spellbinding tale of power, loyalty and loss – a vision of history transfigured by love.
~
I read the first book in this trilogy, Fire from Heaven, last year and although I didn’t love it, I did find it fascinating. This is the second book and I’ll be interested to see what I think of it.
Have you read this – or anything else by Mary Renault?
She Reads Novels 
Mary Renault is in my top five historical novelists of all time (with Dunnett, O’Brian, Sutcliff and Mantel). This and ‘Fire From Heaven’ are, I think, her best books. I’m glad to see they’re now considered classics.
Mary Renault is one of my top five historical novelists, along with Dunnett, O’Brian, Sutcliff and Mantel. In common with them, her vivid re-creation of the past is so convincing, you think she must have had access to a time machine, and this, along with ‘Fire From Heaven’, is her best novel.
Sorry that this has been posted twice, it didn’t recognise me the first time and I thought the message hadn’t gone through!
Don’t worry – that happens now and then for some reason! I love all five of your top historical novelists, particularly Dunnett and O’Brian. I’ve only read three of Mary Renault’s books so far and I think I personally found her Theseus novels more enjoyable, but Fire From Heaven was certainly very impressive and I’m looking forward to reading The Persian Boy.
If you liked the first book, you’ll probably like this one, although it’s from a totally different point of view. I got Our Mutual Friend.
Yes, I’m expecting to like this one. Our Mutual Friend is one of my favourite Dickens novels.
It’s a reread for me, but it’s one of my favorites.
That was a good one!
I’m looking forward to it.
Like your previous commenter, I really loved Mary Renault; at some point or other I think I’ve read most of her historical novels (her Theseus novels are fabulous!). I’ve read The Persian Boy couple of times, although not recently. I really loved it but it IS brutal in spots — that’s part of Renault’s gift, to show you an alien time/culture in a totally convincing way. I’ll look forward to your reaction. Meantime — enjoy!
Yes, I enjoyed the Theseus novels, particularly the second one! I’m pleased to hear you loved The Persian Boy enough to read it more than once – I’ll be starting it soon (and will be prepared for it being brutal).
I hope you enjoy it, Helen
Thanks! I hope I will
I’ve mentioned before that I’ve only read The King Must Die and, possibly, its sequel The Bull from the Sea, both so long ago that they might possibly be like new novels to me now! Good luck with this, I’ve not tried any of her works set in an historical period such as the Alexander novels.
I enjoyed The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea and got on better with them than I did with the first Alexander book. This second book seems to be very highly regarded, though, so I’m looking forward to reading it.
Sounds a good result Helen!
Yes, I think so!
Interesting! I’ve not read any Renault though she does sound so interesting. Hope it’s a good one!!
The three books I’ve read by her so far have all been fascinating, so I have high hopes for this one!
I haven’t read anything by her, but it sounds interesting – Alexander was an early hero of mine, thanks to Ladybird books! Hope you enjoy it.
I loved Ladybird books but never read the Alexander one. There were so many of them! All of the Mary Renault books I’ve read have been fascinating, so I’m pleased to have got this one in the spin.
This sounds interesting, hopefully it’ll win you over more than the first one did although its good to hear that was a fascinating read at least. I havent read anything by her yet but want to read her Theseus books sometime. I think you may have been the person who told me about them actually š¤
Yes, I reviewed the first book in this trilogy last year, so probably mentioned the Theseus books then! I think they’re a good place to start with Mary Renault, although I did like Fire From Heaven as well and am looking forward to continuing with The Persian Boy now that it’s been chosen for me to read.
Helen, I hope you enjoy The Persian BoyĀ by Mary Renault. I haven’t any of Renault’s books, but I would like to. š
She’s a great writer – I hope you can try one of her books one day.