Fire from Heaven : A Novel of Alexander the Great - Mary Renault

The Alexander Trilogy contains some of Renault's finest writing. Lyrical, wise, compelling: the novels are a wonderful imaginative feat

Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legendAlexander's beauty, strength and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king. His mother and father, Olympias and King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son's loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle.

Hephaistion's love taught him trust, while Aristotle's tutoring provoked his mind and Homer's Iliad fuelled his aspirations. At age twelve, he killed his first man in battle; at sixteen, he became regent; at eighteen, commander of Macedon's cavalry; and by the time his father was murdered, Alexander's skills had grown to match his fiery ambition. SHORTLISTED FOR THE 1970 LOST BOOKER PRIZE.