''Black Ships Before Troy: The story of the Iliad'' is a novel for children written by

Rosemary Sutcliff Rosemary Sutcliff (14 December 1920 – 23 July 1992) was an English novelist best known for children's books, especially historical fiction and retellings of myths and legends. Although she was primarily a children's author, some of her novel ...

, illustrated by Alan Lee, and published (posthumously) by

Frances Lincoln Frances Elisabeth Rosemary Lincoln (20 March 1945 – 26 February 2001) was an English independent publisher of illustrated books. She published under her own name and the company went on to become Frances Lincoln Publishers. In 1995, Lincoln w ...

in 1993. Partly based on the ''

Iliad The ''Iliad'' (; grc, Ἰλιάς, Iliás, ; "a poem about Ilium") is one of two major ancient Greek epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by modern audiences. As with the ''Odysse ...

'', the book retells the story of the

Trojan War In Greek mythology, the Trojan War was waged against the city of Troy by the Achaeans (Greeks) after Paris of Troy took Helen from her husband Menelaus, king of Sparta. The war is one of the most important events in Greek mythology and has ...

, from the birth of

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

to the building of the

Trojan Horse The Trojan Horse was a wooden horse said to have been used by the Greeks during the Trojan War to enter the city of Troy and win the war. The Trojan Horse is not mentioned in Homer's ''Iliad'', with the poem ending before the war is concluded, ...

. For his part Lee won the annual

Kate Greenaway Medal The Kate Greenaway Medal is a British literary award that annually recognises "distinguished illustration in a book for children". It is conferred upon the illustrator by the Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals (CILIP) ...

from the

Library Association The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge management, knowle ...

, recognizing the year's best children's book illustration by a British subject.(Greenaway Winner 1993)
. Living Archive: Celebrating the Carnegie and Greenaway Winners.

CILIP The Chartered Institute of Library and Information Professionals, since 2017 branded CILIP: The library and information association (pronounced ), is a professional body for librarians, information specialists and knowledge managers in the ...

. Retrieved 2012-07-08.

Plot

Reviews and reprints

''Kirkus Reviews'' noted the "compelling vision and sensitivity to language, history, and heroics" that she brought to retelling both

Arthurian legends The Matter of Britain is the body of medieval literature and legendary material associated with Great Britain and Brittany and the legendary kings and heroes associated with it, particularly King Arthur. It was one of the three great Western ...

and the Homeric epic."Black Ships Before Troy"
''

Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' (or ''Kirkus Media'') is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus (1893–1980). The magazine is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fic ...

''. 15 October 1993. Retrieved 2012-10-13. ''

The Reading Teacher ''The Reading Teacher'' is a peer-reviewed academic journal published six times per year by Wiley-Blackwell. The current editors are Jan Lacina (Texas Christian University) and Robin Griffith (Texas Christian University). ''The Reading Teacher'' is ...

'' remarked that the book's division into 19 chapters makes it a good text to spread out over multiple readings, and praised Sutcliff's "graceful, powerful language". Sutcliff's prose is praised also in ''Books to Build On'', a collection of teaching resources edited by

E. D. Hirsch, Jr. Eric "E. D." Donald Hirsch Jr. (born 1928) is an American educator, literary critic, and theorist of education. He is professor emeritus of education and humanities at the University of Virginia. Hirsch is best known for his 1987 book ''Cu ...

Common Core The Common Core State Standards Initiative, also known as simply Common Core, is an educational initiative from 2010 that details what K–12 students throughout the United States should know in English language arts and mathematics at the conc ...

handbook suggests it for grades 6-8.

Delacorte Press Dell Publishing Company, Inc. is an American publisher of books, magazines and comic books, that was founded in 1921 by George T. Delacorte Jr. with $10,000 (approx. $145,000 in 2021), two employees and one magazine title, ''I Confess'', and ...

reprinted ''Black Ships'' in the US within the calendar year (October 1993; ).

Sequel

Sutcliff's retelling of Homer's ''

Odyssey The ''Odyssey'' (; grc, Ὀδύσσεια, Odýsseia, ) is one of two major Ancient Greek literature, ancient Greek Epic poetry, epic poems attributed to Homer. It is one of the oldest extant works of literature still widely read by moder ...

'' story was also illustrated by Alan Lee and published by Frances Lincoln in a companion edition, ''The Wanderings of Odysseus: The story of the Odyssey'' (1995, ). ''Kirkus'' praised both Sutcliff's text, for preserving "a certain formality of language" and for graceful "winnowing", and Lee's "spectacular paintings": "Beautiful and detailed ... the pictures are obviously the result of careful research and reward close scrutiny. A gorgeous book, more than worthy of its predecessor." It suggested the book for ages 10 and up."The Wanderings of Odysseus"
''Kirkus Reviews''. 15 May 1996. Retrieved 2012-10-13.

References

External links

* —immediately, contemporary US reprint
Rosemary Sutcliff
—curated by Anthony Lawton,

literary executor The literary estate of a deceased author consists mainly of the copyright and other intellectual property rights of published works, including film, translation rights, original manuscripts of published work, unpublished or partially completed wo ...

{{Iliad navbox British children's novels Kate Greenaway Medal winning works Novels by Rosemary Sutcliff Novels set during the Trojan War 1993 British novels Novels set in ancient Troy Novels published posthumously 1993 children's books Novels based on the Iliad Children's books set in ancient Greece