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Jeanne Reames

Goodreads Author

Born

in The United States

Website

https://jeannereames.net/Dancing_with_the_Lion/...

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Jeanne_Reames

Genre

Historical Fiction, History, Science Fiction

Influences

Toni Morrison, Louise Erdich, Sherman Alexie, Iris Murdoch, John Irvin ...more

Member Since

May 2012

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Mother, writer, history professor, Homer fangirl and Alexander the Great geek. Interviewed expert for The History Channel's "Ancient Empires: Alexander the Great." ...more

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Hey, I really enjoyed your Alexander books and the way you interpreted the character of Alexander. I was wondering, how did you discover him and what was it about him that fascinates you so? Also what non-fiction would you recommend to a beginner Alexander the Great geek like myself? (:

Jeanne Reames Hi, Saimi! First, let me apologize for the slight delay in my reply. I teach full time and I'm also heading overseas shortly, so I've been a tad press…moreHi, Saimi! First, let me apologize for the slight delay in my reply. I teach full time and I'm also heading overseas shortly, so I've been a tad pressed for time. :-o

Also, before I get started, let me note that I have a website about the novels with a lot of extras--including a couple extra and cut scenes--plus Vlogs, how to pronounce names, etc. It's all here:
https://jeannereames.net/Dancing_with...

In addition, I keep a blog (which I think Goodreads does link to?), but in case not, you can find it here, that might have a number of topics of interest in short entries (usually 1-3 pages, a few longer, and images *grin*):
https://awomanscholar.blogspot.com/

Now... to your question: Why Alexander and how I discovered him? Waaaay back in the middle/late 80s (yes, I'm old) I was getting my masters in Theological Studies, and the professors kept mentioning this guy "Alexander the Great" as if all the students ought to know who he was. Well, I'd *hated* history in school (I blame bad teachers) so got through both high school and college with not a single world history class. Had no IDEA who "Alexander the Great" was. Deciding maybe I ought to learn, given how pivotal he seemed to be, I hiked over to the Emory Univ. library, and checked out two books at random. Fatefully, they were N.G.L. Hammond's Alexander the Great: King, Commander and Statesmen; and Peter Green's, Alexander of Macedon (which I read in that order).

I couldn't have picked two more divergent views if I'd tried! I became fascinated by this guy who loomed so large, but who excited such *differing* views. I started reading, and as I seem incapable of doing anything by halves, I eventually wound up pursuing a PhD in the subject. But prior to that, I had the idea for a novel about his youth. (I was unaware of Mary Renault's Fire from Heaven, at the time.)

So in December of 1988, I opened a file and started a novel about a run-away boy (Hephaistion) who landed in Pella and ran into the prince after getting the better of another page. (The scene between Hephaistion and Kassandros at the opening of chapter 2 is all-but-unchanged aside from correcting some details.) Almost from the beginning, Hephaistion was formed. He sat up in my head and started dictating, and I had to take notes. ;-) Alexander was slower to coalesce. I had to write my way into understanding him. But yes, the novel has always been their story, and Hephaistion has always been as important to it as Alexander. (That I later did my PhD dissertation on Hephaistion is probably not a great surprise.)

As for where you, as a new fan of Alexander (*grin*), might begin, if you read it, in the back of Book 2 (Rise) I have an author's note about my choices, but also, a list of sources, with some of the better known names in Macedonian and Alexander studies (et al.).

But let me offer my textbook list from the undergraduate class I teach on Alexander, here at UNO:

Before Alexander: Constructing Early Macedonia, Eugene N. Borza
Shorter, cheaper intro to Macedonia by the author of In the Shadow of Olympus.

Alexander the Great and His World, Carol Thomas
Similar to the above, but looks at the wider Greek world as well and more aimed at ATG.

Alexander the Great: Legacy of a Conqueror, W. Lindsay Adams
Short, to the point and reflects recent work on Macedonia itself.

Into the Land of Bones, Frank Holt
Adams’ text above doesn’t deal much with Afghanistan; I want to spend a bit more time here.

Secondary Texts: Recommended

Conquest and Empire, A. B. Bosworth (required for grads)
Longer biography with more detail, but 1988, so less on recent Macedonian advances

The Persians, Maria Brosius (required for grads)
A good, brief introduction to Alexander’s chief adversaries and the land he invaded

The Wars of Alexander the Great, Waldemar Heckel (required for grads)
Nice, brief little resource focusing on ATG as military leader with lots of good illustrations.

The Original (Primary) Sources: All of these are available in cheap Penguin or Oxford translations.

Arrian's Anabasis and Indica (Alexander the Great)
Curtius Rufus' A History of Alexander
Plutarch's Life of Alexander (The Age of Alexander)
Diodorus Siculus' World History, Loeb book 17 (Philip and ATG)
Justin on Alexander (Yardley's translation)(less)

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Average rating: 4.11 · 1,009 ratings · 229 reviews · 5 distinct works • Similar authors

	Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1) 4.03 avg rating — 641 ratings — published 2019	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Rise (Dancing with the Lion #2) 4.22 avg rating — 327 ratings — published 2019 — 4 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Bundle: Dancing with the Lion: The Complete Collection 4.56 avg rating — 34 ratings — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Macedonian Legacies: Studies in Ancient Macedonian History and Culture in Honor of Eugene N. Borza by Jeanne Reames (Goodreads Author) (editor), Timothy Howe (Editor) really liked it 4.00 avg rating — 7 ratings — published 2008 — 2 editions	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars
	Macedon and Its Influences: Narratives of Politics and War in Honor of Edward M. Anson by Jeanne Reames (Goodreads Author) (Editor), Graham Wrightson (Editor) 0.00 avg rating — 0 ratings — published 2024	Error rating book. Refresh and try again. Rate this book Clear rating 1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

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HINTS ON DOING RESEARCH (online and off)

Somebits of generic advice that a surprising number of folks don’t realize:

Bibliographies are your friends. But with acaveat…bibliographies list anything the author cites, even if thatauthor disagrees with it. That’s good! It means you can find a variety ofvoices on a topic. So, once you find a (relatively recent) book or article on yourtopic of interest, always check the bibliography for more so

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Dancing with the Lion (2 books)
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Isle of Winds (The Changeling, #1)

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Sneak Peek for Witch King

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Jeanne Reames wrote a new blog post HINTS ON DOING RESEARCH (online and off) Somebits of generic advice that a surprising number of folks don’t realize:Bibliographies are your friends. But with acaveat…bibliographies list anyt Read more of this blog post »
Jun 01, 2026 05:50AM · like
Jeanne liked Sophia's review of Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1): "This is a book you cannot put down once started. I hope Dr Reames comes back to this series and finishes Alexander's story. His story ended (to alot of people) with Hephaistion and it would be a great conclusion. "
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Jeanne liked chloé's review of Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1): "I’d like to thank Jeanne Reames for getting me out of a reading slump. "
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Jeanne liked Berethil's review of Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1): "Probably my favourite novel about Alexander so far! I picked this up after being left unsatisfied by the Renault trilogy. This time I wasn’t disappointed. I love how Reames writes Alexander and Hephaestion. Alexander feels human rather than like a shin" Read more of this review »
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Jeanne made a comment on Icarus’s review of Becoming (Dancing with the Lion #1) " Thank you. I do hope you enjoy the second! "
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A Romance with Teeth, and Heart .... Richmond tackles the tough stuff: date-rape drugs and unwanted pregnancy, and how that torpedoes a young woman’s life and career plans. Women bear the brunt of blame as well as responsibility for any offspring the ...more
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