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Purple Quest
A royal love affair that shaped the destiny of the ancient world
The Purple Quest is a masterful recreation of one of the great romantic sagas of the ancient world--the turbulent story of Queen Dido and the founding of Carthage.
With no weapons but courage and a sailor's skills, and no ally but Hera, the lovely Grecian who owed him more than her life, a proud Phoenician prince fights to defend his people from ambitious enemies--and himself from the unwelcome glory of marriage to the legendary Queen Dido.
The Purple Quest is a masterful recreation of one of the great romantic sagas of the ancient world--the turbulent story of Queen Dido and the founding of Carthage.
With no weapons but courage and a sailor's skills, and no ally but Hera, the lovely Grecian who owed him more than her life, a proud Phoenician prince fights to defend his people from ambitious enemies--and himself from the unwelcome glory of marriage to the legendary Queen Dido.
219 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1965
6 people are currently reading
80 people want to read
About the author
Frank G. Slaughter
429 books80 followersFrank Gill Slaughter , pen-name Frank G. Slaughter, pseudonym C.V. Terry, was an American novelist and physician whose books sold more than 60 million copies. His novels drew on his own experience as a doctor and his interest in history and the Bible. Through his novels, he often introduced readers to new findings in medical research and new medical technologies.
Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.
Slaughter was born in Washington, D.C., the son of Stephen Lucious Slaughter and Sarah "Sallie" Nicholson Gill. When he was about five years old, his family moved to a farm near Berea, North Carolina, which is west of Oxford, North Carolina. He earned a bachelor's degree from Trinity College (now Duke University) at 17 and went to medical school at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland. He began writing fiction in 1935 while a physician at Riverside Hospital in Jacksonville, Florida.
Books by Slaughter include The Purple Quest, Surgeon, U.S.A., Epidemic! , Tomorrow's Miracle and The Scarlet Cord. Slaughter died May 17, 2001 in Jacksonville, Florida.
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
December 7, 2008
This is supposed to be historical fiction but it is very similar to me to fantasy fiction, just set in an historical context. I'm a real sucker for these kinds of books. This is set during the time when Phoenica was a major power and it's full of intrigue and some pretty good battle scenes. Recommended.
October 24, 2011
The copy of the book that I have was copyrighted in 1965. It seems to be very historically accurate as to ship types, navigation capabilities, and boat management. It is a fictional tale of Elissa and the founding of Carthage, based on limited historical knowledge where the book personalities and actions of the characters give a prosaic texture of the probable lifestyles of actual people and events. For those only reading it as a story, and not looking to use it as a projection of history, then the rating of the book would be lowered to a probable 3 star.
I was most interested in the capabilities, rigging, and vessel size of the Phoenician ships as compared to the Greek biremes. The information seems to have held up well over the last 45 years of nautical archeology.
I was most interested in the capabilities, rigging, and vessel size of the Phoenician ships as compared to the Greek biremes. The information seems to have held up well over the last 45 years of nautical archeology.
July 29, 2019
This is an older historical novel about the Phoenicians living in Tyre. It focuses on a brave captain who is descended from a former dynasty of kings returning to the city after half a decade away on trading expeditions. On that trip he discovered a potential new source of purple dye and a good place to build a trading outpost for the merchants of Tyre. Yet the city is threatened by an invading Assyrian army and is troubled by political intrigue from within.
This novel covers a very important part of ancient history that is little discussed, and has a lot of fascinating historical details about shipping and navigation of the time. Slaughter tells a good story that is quite entertaining and moves along well while covering a great deal of ground.
The only thing that particularly annoyed me in the book was the regular use of the word "Juno" as an alternate to Hera, which would not have been known or used by anyone in the region since it was an Etruscan goddess later adopted and used by Rome as their version of Hera. Rome was founded about the same time as the events of this novel and was a very, very small and insignificant people. No one would even know who Juno was unless they were literally from Etrusca, and nobody would have considered it an alternate for Hera.
Overall though, this is a very minor quibble and the book is very entertaining and quick to read.
*the "Dragon's Blood" dye mentioned in the book is real; it comes from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
This novel covers a very important part of ancient history that is little discussed, and has a lot of fascinating historical details about shipping and navigation of the time. Slaughter tells a good story that is quite entertaining and moves along well while covering a great deal of ground.
The only thing that particularly annoyed me in the book was the regular use of the word "Juno" as an alternate to Hera, which would not have been known or used by anyone in the region since it was an Etruscan goddess later adopted and used by Rome as their version of Hera. Rome was founded about the same time as the events of this novel and was a very, very small and insignificant people. No one would even know who Juno was unless they were literally from Etrusca, and nobody would have considered it an alternate for Hera.
Overall though, this is a very minor quibble and the book is very entertaining and quick to read.
*the "Dragon's Blood" dye mentioned in the book is real; it comes from the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean.
December 25, 2021
Picked up Mr. Slaughter's The Purple Quest at a local library's Used Book Sale, and I remember being captivated by its historical detail and its storyline.
February 17, 2013
Marvellous book! I've read ALL of Frank Slaughter's books and love them all. Just got this one off E-Bay - so pleased as they are hard to find now. Highly recommend !
March 11, 2013
Another favorite. Unusual story about the founding of Carthage, but it doesn't read like a documentary or a history book. It's a love story, wrapped around history.
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews