The Mirror of Helen

The Kaphtu Trilogy #3

by Richard L. Purtill

"The story of Helen of Troy is one of the great classics of all time. In this unusual fantasy novel, Richard L. Purtill dares to look behind the scenes to depict what it was really like to be involved with that half-goddess whose radiant beauty did indeed launch a thousand ships. Here is Helen as a child, kidnapped and held hostage. Here is Helen as a woman, captive in an alien city while the civilized world sought for her, fought for her. Told as by one who had seen the events, who knew her, who knew the gods who pulled the world's strings, this is a novel that brings it all back in the vivid reflections of the mirror of divine judgement."
— Donald A. Wollheim, founder of DAW Books

"With a scholar's grasp of the period and its mythology, and an unerring eye for character, Richard Purtill brings a gripping reality to the siege of Ilium. As real as today's news—and vastly more enjoyable."
— F. M. Busby, author of The Demu Trilogy

Genres: Fantasy

Paperback

First published October 4, 1983

About the author

Richard Purtill was the Professor Emeritus of Philosophy at Western Washington University, Bellingham, Washington, as well as an author of fantasy and science fiction, critical non-fiction on the same genres, and various works on religion and philosophy. He is best known for his novels of the "Kaphtu" universe. He wrote as both Richard Purtill and Richard L. Purtill, a variant form of his name. He was active in professional writing circles, being a member of the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, the Authors Guild, and the National Writers Union. His book J.R.R.Tolkien: Myth, Morality and Religion won the 1987 Mythopoeic Scholarship Award for Inklings Studies.

Reviews

[Fraser Sherman · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5. Purtill's earlier novels had some pacing problems (#2 in this trilogy tosses off the legend of Theseus, the eruption of Thera and the end of Minoan Crete in two pages) but he solves them here by making this into three novelettes: one about Theseus kidnapping Helen in her youth, one from the POV of Helen's handmaiden as the war winds down and a final one from Menelaus' point of view.
Purtill's a good writer and I love his handling of some of the supporting characters (arrogant Agamemnon and the ever-tricky Odysseus). He also does a good job working in some obscure parts of Helen's legend, such as her supposedly being replaced in Troy by an Egyptian doppelganger. And I like Helen's self-doubt here — as every man loves her for her looks, will any man ever be able to see below the surface? However, reducing her flight with Paris to Troy an actual deus ex machina (Aphrodite made her do it!) makes her a rather passive figure, which felt disappointing.

[Lisa (Harmonybites) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I didn't know this was the final part of a trilogy when I first read this decades ago, and in fact it works quite well as a standalone. I'm very fond of this book. Even though I'd read it so long ago, so many of it's details vividly came to mind even before looking at it again. This is a story of Helen of Troy from various first person perspectives. There's a prologue with Theseus, who takes her captive as a hostage when she's around ten years old. Book One showing her as a young woman choosing from her suitors is from the perspective of Alceme, a lady of Athens who leaped bulls in Crete with Theseus. Book Two shows Helen as a mature woman from the perspective of M'pha, a Cretan woman who serves her in Troy. And finally Book Three, set during and after Troy falls, is from the perspective of Menelaus, the husband she abandoned for Paris.

I loved how Purtill played with the various forms of her legend. You could call this Homer fanfic I suppose--and it's fun to get glimpses of such figures as Odysseus, Cassandra, and Achilles here. And from my memory of the bits about Helen in Homer, this sympathetic portrayal of her doesn't conflict with his works. The novel also, especially given how Theseus figures here, reminds me of Mary Renaults' novels of Theseus, The King Must Die and The Bull from the Sea. Unlike with Renault, in this novel the Greek Gods such as Aphrodite and Hera aren't just figures of worship and belief but actually exist, putting this in the fantasy rather than simply historical fiction category, although it's evident Purtill did his homework on the Late Bronze Age. Purtill isn't the amazing writer Renault is, and this book isn't as impressive as her novels, but it's a very enjoyable read and he succeeds in making Helen a lot more than a pretty face and managed a resolution speaking of love, marriage and beauty I found greatly satisfying. If you loved works such as H.R. Haggard's The World's Desire, C.S. Lewis' Till We Have Faces, Mary Renault's The King Must Die and Jo Graham's Black Ships and are pinning for more works using Greek Mythology as their basis, I think you'll enjoy this novel.

[Laura]

I loved "the Golden Gryphon Feather" and I am really looking forward to this one.