Grèce

Andreas Franghias' novel "The Courtyard" gives us a picture of Athens not found in the guidebooks. Set in the ruins of post-World War II Greece, the story revolves around the inhabitants of a single courtyard in one of the city's poorer neighborhoods. Officially, the civil war has been over for years, but its devastating effects continue to haunt the survivors as, driven by fear, hunger and greed, they try to wrangle a way out of their poverty and pent-up lives. We follow them as they scheme and pursue their dreams through the backstreets of Monastiraki and the coffeehouses of Omonia Square. There is Eftihis, a street-peddler who dreams of making it big on money from an extorted dowry. There is Lucia, the wife of a country school-teacher who returns to look for a past that no longer exists. There is Andonis, one-time resistance fighter, now small-time operator. And there is Angelos, a political fugitive on the run from himself. "The Courtyard", tells their stories with humor and drama. It is the portrait of a city rebuilding and reshaping itself; of a society torn out at the roots, suspended between the uncertainties of its future and the nightmares of its past.

Two friends trapped in adolescence. Their first encounter with Woman and the supernatural. Constant reassessment of values and a heroine out of Lewis Carroll. Arrangements to meet at night at her parents' house. Reading Albert Camus and caviar-parties for four. The Dawn Spirits and the fugitive abbot. An apparition from Hell. The golden decade of the 1970s and the nymphomaniac chimera. Long live virgins! In order words, a very tender love story. Or, The Emptiness Beyond

In his brilliantly constructed novel, Spiros Plaskovitis counterpoints his enigmatic heroine -Anghelina Dassiou- agianst the touristic "development" (or destruction?) of most Greek islands today. Anghelina, although forced by circumstances to work as a sales-lady in the deluxe tourist hotel, still personifies nostalgia for the traditional couleur locale of Corfu -particularly the old Venetian town. The big buisness explotation of the island is represended by Nikias Zavolis, the odious manager of the hotel, where the hero -Dimos Hairetis- is spending his holiday with his exotic half-caste mistress. [...]

A man is seized from his afternoon drink at the Café Sport by two agents of the Regime—though what exactly he is suspected of we do not know, and neither, apparently, does he. Part thriller and part political satire, The Flaw is as powerful today as it was when first published in 1965, foretelling the military dictatorship that would take hold of Greece only two years later.

Internecine strife in a village in the Epirus during the Greek civil war of the late 1940s. Many of the villagers, including Captain Drakos, the son of the local priest, Father Yanaros, have taken to the mountains and joined the rebels. It is Holy Week and, with murder, death and destruction every day, Father Yanaros feels that he himself is bearing the sins of the world.

Eager to flee the parochialism of her French upbringing, and a painful family past, the young and beautiful Marina falls in love with a seductive Greek sea-captain she meets at the port of Rouen. She follows him to the Aegean island of Syros to begin a new life as a married woman in the home of her formidable mother-in-law. Enchanted by the beauty of her surroundings, and fascinated by her husband's erudite younger brother, she aspires to learn all she can about contemporary Greek culture and live up to the ideals of her classical education. But when disaster upends her husband's shipping business and the comfortable stability of their life together, Marina's world slides into a vicious circle of love, passion, and death. Set in the early decades of the twentieth century, The Great Chimera is an exquisite account of the inner life of the heroine, and the collisions of different cultures and ways of being. In prose that ranges from the lyrical to the tersely realist, Karagatsis weaves a classic tale that is wide-ranging in its literary references, and devastating in its psychological nuance. This modern Greek tragedy has been made into a TV series and a highly acclaimed stage play, enjoying three sold-out seasons in Athens, and an international tour.

The heroic story of Arimnestos of Plataea continues - a thrilling historical adventure set amid the epic struggle between Greece and Persia - perfect for fans of the blockbusting film 300. Slave, pirate, husband and lover: Arimnestos of Plataea has been many things in the course of his life. But men remember him best as one of the heroes of the Battle of Marathon, the epic victory that prevented all of Greece from falling under the Persian yoke.

But now there is a new Great King on the throne, determined to succeed where his father failed. As rumours abound of a vast Persian invasion, an embassy is sent to forestall the threat. Arimnestos is chosen to escort them - an honour he can hardly refuse.

But as the storm clouds of war gather and factions on both sides begin to weave their treacherous plots, Arimnestos' journey begins to look more and more like a suicide mission.

A severed head is found on the Greek border near a wall planned to stop Middle Eastern immigrants crossing from Turkey. Intelligence Agent Evangelos wants the truth about the murder, human trafficking into Greece, and about the corruption surrounding the wall's construction. It is a mystery novel and a political thriller but more importantly it evokes the problems of the West incarnated in Greece: isolationism, fear of immigration, economic collapse and corruption. While dark, it is also poetic and paints an indelible portrait of Athens, with its mixed fragrances of eucalyptus, freshly baked bread and cigarette smoke.

A deft and clever retelling full of intrigue, rage and pathos' JENNIFER SAINT, author of Ariadne'An intelligent, highly crafted and necessary book' CLAIRE NORTH, author of Ithaca'Urgent and furious' ROSIE ANDREWS, author of The Leviathan ___________________In Athens, crowds flock to witness the most shocking trial of the ancient world. The royal family is mired in scandal. Phaedra, young bride of King Theseus, has accused her stepson, Hippolytus of rape. He's a prince, a talented horseman, a promising noble with his whole life ahead of him. She's a young and neglected wife, the youngest in a long line of Cretan women with less than savoury reputations. The men of Athens must determine the truth. Who is guilty, and who is innocent?But the women know truth is a slippery thing. After all, this is the age of heroes and the age of monsters. There are two sides to every story, and theirs has gone unheard. Until now. ___________________'Audacious and spirited' SARAH BURTON, author of The Strange Adventures of H'A timely and labyrinthian retelling of the trial of Phaedra: breaking down the old walls and illuminating the true monsters.' CARI THOMAS author of Threadneedle'The Heroines subverts the most enduring myth of all. That women are to blame.' JOANNE BURN, author of The Hemlock Cure'A mesmerizing read' ELIZABETH LEE, author of Cunning Women'Fiercely compelling' CAROLINE LEA, author of The Glass Woman'A stunning debut . . . vibrant characters, dark twists, a shimmering brilliant read.' CARLY REAGON, author of The Toll House'Beautifully told and utterly gripping . . . The Heroines compellingly asks us to consider how our understanding is influenced by who is telling the story, and why.' CAILEAN STEED, author of Home

'The first great book, and the first great book about the suffering and loss of war' GuardianOne of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer's Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode in the Trojan War. At its centre is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, who refuses to fight after being humiliated by his leader Agamemnon. But when the Trojan Hector kills Achilles' close friend Patroclus, he storms back into battle to take revenge - knowing this will ensure his own early death. E. V. Rieu's acclaimed translation of The Iliad was one of the first titles published in Penguin Classics, and now has classic status itself. Originally translated by E. V. RIEU Revised and updated by PETER JONES with D. C. H. RIEU Edited with an Introduction and notes by PETER JONES