Achilles's Wife

Trojan Threads #2

by Judith Starkston

In an ancient kingdom, a princess takes inspiration from a visiting young woman to challenge her father’s views and reach for leadership—and then discovers her muse is a man.

The goddess mother of Greek mythology’s most famous warrior, Achilles, will do anything to prevent her son’s fated early death. In a desperate move, she hides Achilles, against his will, on an island—disguised in a girl’s body.

Tormented by inner discord, the miscast “girl” befriends Mia, the eldest daughter of the island’s king, launching a transformation of Mia’s own. Armed with a new vision she believes comes from a girl, Mia contends with family secrets, a controlling father, her destiny to rule, and the wrath of a goddess.

When fate reveals Achilles’s identity, a divine mother’s fury drives Mia and Achilles into marriage. Mia must navigate her love for a man with a divided heart and a dangerous measure of immortality. Balancing governance and motherhood, Mia will face an unbearable choice.

A stand-alone novel in the Trojan Threads Series.

352 pages, Paperback

Expected publication March 16, 2026

About the author

Judith Starkston writes historical fantasy and mythic retellings set in the Bronze Age of the Greeks and Hittites. Her six novels bring women to the fore—whether Deidamia or Briseis from the Trojan War cycle of myths or a remarkable Hittite queen whom history forgot, even though she ruled over one of the greatest empires of the ancient world. Judith has degrees in Classics from the University of California, Santa Cruz and Cornell and lives in Davis, California. Find her newsletter sign-up (and a free novella), book reviews, and posts about archaeology and history on her website JudithStarkston.com

Reviews

[Vicky · Rating 5 out of 5]

There’s nothing I love more than diving into the imagined experiences of the silenced women of the Iliad, and this book ranks up there with some of the best. Achilles’s wife, the Princess Deidamia, is barely even mentioned in the epic poem. She is the one who hides the half-mortal warrior among her women to keep him from being recruited for the Trojan War and later gives birth to Achilles’s son. She is a smart, savvy ruler in her own right, and her inner life is rendered believably and with great respect, given the constraints she faces as a princess in a warrior culture. Achilles, in the source texts, is not very likable to me, but in this story, he is fleshed out in a way that makes him sympathetic. He is a young man deeply conflicted about his fate and situation. There is an early twist to this story that I dare not divulge because I don’t want to rob readers of the experience of encountering it for themselves. It adds yet another layer of fascination and complexity to the characters and the story. Even within a tale where you know exactly what is going to happen next, this book managed to surprise me. It also made me think even more about how the women of the era—the daughters, wives, and mothers of the heroes in the Trojan War—likely had greater sway than the Bard ever let on. If I had a hat, I’d tip it to Deidamia, because she certainly earned my respect. This is a fresh take on an old story that is absolutely worth reading.

[Elisabeth Storrs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Review of Advanced Review Copy from author

In Achilles’ Wife, Starkston expertly draws the shadowy figure of Princess Deidamia into bright sunshine in this creative retelling of Achilles’ secret sojourn as a woman in King Lycomedes’ court where the kinder, more empathetic, side of the great warrior is explored. ‘Mia’ emerges as a strong female character standing proudly beside male Homeric heroes. The pathos of her love affair with Achilles is matched by her heartbreak in dealing with the raging Neoptolemus, her part-divine son, who seeks to match the valour of his famous father yet lacks Achilles' sense of honour and humanity. The book's exploration of two lesser characters in the myth is compelling, especially the helplessness of Mia, and even the divine Thetis, to rein in the volatile and ruthless boy. A tale of doomed love, maternal devotion, and inexorable fate. Highly recommended.