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Mary Renault

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Daniel Mendelsohn on his correspondence with the novelist Mary Renault - The New Yorker
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Mary Renault


Born
in London, England, The United Kingdom
September 04, 1905

Died
December 13, 1983

Genre
Literature & Fiction, Historical Fiction


Mary Renault was an English writer best known for her historical novels set in Ancient Greece. In addition to vivid fictional portrayals of Theseus, Socrates, Plato and Alexander the Great, she wrote a non-fiction biography of Alexander.

Her historical novels are all set in ancient Greece. They include a pair of novels about the mythological hero Theseus and a trilogy about the career of Alexander the Great. In a sense, The Charioteer (1953), the story of two young gay servicemen in the 1940s who try to model their relationship on the ideals expressed in Plato's Phaedrus and Symposium, is a warm-up for Renault's historical novels. By turning away from the 20th century and focusing on stories about male lovers in the warrior societies of anci ...more

Combine Editions

Average rating: 4.05 · 60,951 ratings · 5,605 reviews · 28 distinct works • Similar authors
The Persian Boy (Alexander ...
4.18 avg rating — 11,274 ratings — published 1972 — 5 editions
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The King Must Die (Theseus,...
3.97 avg rating — 10,440 ratings — published 1958 — 147 editions
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Fire from Heaven (Alexander...
3.96 avg rating — 10,368 ratings — published 1969 — 32 editions
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The Charioteer
4.11 avg rating — 6,625 ratings — published 1953 — 76 editions
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The Last of the Wine
4.04 avg rating — 6,550 ratings — published 1956 — 70 editions
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The Bull from the Sea (Thes...
4.09 avg rating — 4,285 ratings — published 1962 — 3 editions
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Funeral Games (Alexander th...
4.04 avg rating — 3,603 ratings — published 1981 — 61 editions
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The Mask of Apollo
4.06 avg rating — 2,627 ratings — published 1966 — 78 editions
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The Praise Singer
3.97 avg rating — 1,622 ratings — published 1978 — 34 editions
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The Nature of Alexander
4.16 avg rating — 1,507 ratings — published 1975 — 15 editions
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More books by Mary Renault…

Series by Mary Renault

Fire from Heaven The Persian Boy Funeral Games
(3 books)
by
4.08 avg rating — 25,955 ratings

The King Must Die The Bull from the Sea
(2 books)
by
4.01 avg rating — 15,046 ratings

Quotes by Mary Renault  (?)
Quotes are added by the Goodreads community and are not verified by Goodreads. (Learn more)

“One must live as if it would be forever, and as if one might die each moment. Always both at once.”
― Mary Renault, The Persian Boy
tags: alexander-the-great, mary-renault, the-persian-boy
2239 likes
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“True friends share everything, except the past before they met.”
― mary renault, Fire from Heaven
1210 likes
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“There is only one kind of shock worse than the totally unexpected: the expected for which one has refused to prepare.”
― Mary Renault, The Charioteer
tags: shock, truth, unexpected
114 likes
Like

Polls

28708
HISTORICAL FICTION POLL "B"
There will be a series of polls to begin putting together a potential reading list for the "historical fiction folder". I have divided the books into groups of 15 books apiece. Make sure to choose your favorite from each poll and make sure to vote in each of these polls so that we can generate a list according to priorities and interests. You will only receive one notification per poll. There will be simultaneous polls so please make sure to vote in each one.

Master and Commander (Aubrey/Maturin Book 1) by Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian Patrick O'Brian

MASTER AND COMMANDER BY PATRICK O'BRIAN
 
  14 votes, 32.6%

Life on the Mississippi by Mark Twain Mark Twain Mark Twain

LIFE ON THE MISSISSIPPI BY MARK TWAIN
 
  5 votes, 11.6%

All Quiet on the Western Front by Erich Maria Remarque Erich Maria Remarque Erich Maria Remarque

ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT BY ERICH MARIA REMARQUE
 
  5 votes, 11.6%

The Persian Boy (Alexander the Great, #2) by Mary Renault Mary Renault

THE PERSIAN BOY BY MARY RENAULT
 
  5 votes, 11.6%

The Virtues of War A Novel of Alexander the Great by Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield

THE VIRTUES OF WAR: A NOVEL OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD
 
  4 votes, 9.3%

Gates of Fire An Epic Novel of the Battle of Thermopylae by Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield

GATES OF FIRE: AN EPIC NOVEL OF THE BATTLE OF THERMOPYLAE BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD
 
  2 votes, 4.7%

The Afghan Campaign A Novel by Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield

THE AFGHAN CAMPAIGN: A NOVEL BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD
 
  2 votes, 4.7%

Arundel by Kenneth Roberts Kenneth Roberts

ARUNDEL BY KENNETH ROBERTS
 
  2 votes, 4.7%

The Eagle and the Raven by Pauline Gedge Pauline Gedge Pauline Gedge

THE EAGLE AND THE RAVEN BY PAULINE GEDGE
 
  1 vote, 2.3%

The Eagle of the Ninth by Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff


THE EAGLE OF THE NINTH BY ROSEMARY SUTCLIFF
 
  1 vote, 2.3%

Eagle in the Snow by Wallace Breem Wallace Breem

EAGLE IN THE SNOW BY WALLACE BREEM
 
  1 vote, 2.3%

The Black Arrow by Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson Robert Louis Stevenson

THE BLACK ARROW BY ROBERT LOUIS STEVENSON
 
  1 vote, 2.3%

Killing Rommel A Novel by Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield Steven Pressfield

KILLING ROMMEL: A NOVEL BY STEVEN PRESSFIELD
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

The Last of the Wine by Mary Renault Mary Renault

THE LAST OF THE WINE BY MARY RENAULT
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

Fire from Heaven (Alexander the Great, #1) by Mary Renault Mary Renault

FIRE FROM HEAVEN BY MARY RENAULT
 
  0 votes, 0.0%

43 total votes
More...

Topics Mentioning This Author

topics posts views last activity  
The Next Best Boo...: Hi from a voraceous reader... 12 314 Apr 22, 2009 10:44AM  
Queereaders: This topic has been closed to new comments. * List of group reads 1 1589 Oct 30, 2009 05:04PM  
The History Book ...: HISTORICAL FICTION POLLS 6 362 Jan 21, 2010 12:04AM  
Queereaders: February - March nominations 18 33 Jan 28, 2010 02:37PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Spring Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks 2717 2515 May 31, 2010 09:00PM  
The Seasonal Read...: 15.4 - Learn Your Numbers 137 385 Aug 19, 2010 10:47PM  
The Seasonal Read...: This topic has been closed to new comments. Fall Challenge 2010 Completed Tasks (do NOT delete any posts in this thread) 2785 1209 Nov 30, 2010 09:03PM  
The World's Liter...: Future Readings after Greece 20 84 Nov 30, 2010 09:36PM  
Historical Fictio...: Challenge #5: January 1st - February 28th 300 209 Mar 16, 2011 08:15AM