Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad'

Rosemary Sutcliffe keeps the drama and poetic language of Homer's "The Iliad" alive in this wonderful version. My 6- and 8-year-old children sat glued to their seats as I read this story to them. The causes of the Trojan War (The Golden Apple, Paris and Helen) are explained well, and the ensuing battles are depicted with vivid details. Alan Lee's illustrations are perfect for this story-- they give a clear idea of what is happening without being gory. My children loved this book, as did I. I heartily recommend it for a read-aloud, or even for an adult who hasn't read "The Iliad" by Homer. It's a wonderful introduction.

There are a few children's authors that are simply a must (Diane Stanley, Geraldine McCaughrean, Aliki, etc), and Rosemary Sutcliff is one of them! The late Ms. Sutcliff has simply written the best version of the Illiad out there for children. Beginning with the wedding of Achilles' parents, the book covers all the major events of the Illiad including; the resulting dispute between the three Goddesses over the Golden apple, the judging by Paris, his departure with Helen, the hiding and finding of Achilles, and on, and on. Beautifully illustrated, every child should have one.

I am so grateful to have found this excellent version of the Iliad. The heroes, the action and the richness of the story are all maintained in this very accessible version of the classic. The story is broken into chapters that are each a good size for a bedtime read--although my 10 year old son pleaded for "1 more chapter" at the end of each one, and I continued because it is an enjoyable read-aloud. He finally took it himself and read it through. Any good listener who enjoys a rich story - age 7+ - would enjoy this as a read-aloud. Recommended.

Both my husband and I love the Iliad and wanted our children to grow up with it. We have about eight versions of the Iliad at home, and while our children like all of them, the Sutcliffe is far and above the best -- it doesn't patronize, it loses very very little of the plot's narrative, ethical, or emotional complexity, and the reviewer who claimed that "moral messages" are lost must not realize that Homer himself, thank the Gods, moralizes very little and that everything that could reasonably be called by that slightly unenchanting term 'message' is well and alive in this version. Over the last two years, we have read it aloud to both children (now 6+7) at least five times, both have read it or in it by themselves as well, and neither we nor they have grown tired of it. It isn't an easy book to read for younger children, and they need their parents the first time around, but its relative difficulty prolongs its shelflife considerably -- I imagine our children will return to it for quite a few years. The rather dramatic art work is certainly not 'new age,' but neither does it classicize. It's made a great present for our children's friends. My only complaint is that it hasn't come out in paperback.

Having been brought up in a strong Classical background I was a little nervous of a "modern children's version" of the Illiad. I shouldn't have worried. I actually bought BLACK SHIPS for an undergraduate that I was tutoring on sources of modern British literature, but my 7 year old daughter took it away before I could get it to the college. I worried at first that Clare might be scared by some of the very dramatic pictures, but she was enthralled with the whole story and kept coming back to it for days afterwards. I should add that my undergrad was also entranced once I finnaly got it to her and felt that it compared very well with the complete translation of the original that we also read. New age? Hardly! This is a scholarly-but-fun-interpretaion of a gem.