Spartan
Slave, Spartan Queen: A Tale of Four Women in Sparta
Helena P. Schrader
iUniverse (2007)
ISBN 9780595470679
Reviewed
by Regan Windsor for Reader Views (11/07)
Set in Sparta during the Second Messenian
War,
"Spartan
Slave, Spartan Queen" builds on characters
introduced in Helena P. Schrader's previous novel
"Are they Singing in
Sparta?" What is so intriguing about
this "series" is that each novel is successfully
separate and distinct, and yet they complement each other
beautifully. While
"Are
they Singing in Sparta?" focuses on war and
politics of the time,
"Spartan
Slave, Spartan Queen" sways to the historical
romance side, while still immersing the reader in the history,
especially that of the households and women.
"Spartan
Slave, Spartan Queen" opens with Agesandros
successfully raiding his rival Aristimenes's palace and
capturing his slaves and concubine Niobe who is taken by the Spartan
prince Anaxilas as his prize. Niobe, used to her life as a
princess, refuses to give in to her new place as slave (helot),
diminishing her value to the households she finds herself serving.
Mika, who served the beautiful princess Niobe before the raid, has
easily adapted to her new surroundings. Considered ugly and
unwanted due to her cover of warts, she finds shelter in the house of
the kind Alethea. Leon, a slave serving Agesandros, has taken
Mika as his prize and sent her to the safety of his master Alethea for
work and safekeeping. Mika instantly falls in love with her
captor Leon, but his eyes are on Niobe, who finds him beneath her.
As Kassia, daughter of Alethea, is chosen by Analixas to be his wife,
Niobe desperately clings to her only hope of re-establishing her place
as his concubine. Kassia, disgusted with Analixas lust toward
her beauty and not what is beneath it, finds herself desperate to avoid
his hand in marriage.
As power struggles and love triangles ensue the tension
builds. Schrader adds an additional element when Parax, a
physician's apprentice, takes an interest in the mechanics of
childbirth. Tired of seeing his patients die on the birthing
bed, he is desperate to understand how to use his surgical knowledge
and save both mother and child. An opportunity soon presents
itself, but the pressure of the task at hand seems too much to bear.
"Spartan
Slave, Spartan Queen" takes the readers on an
intriguing and multi-layered journey through the world of
Sparta. Helena P. Schrader's ability to
fuse the Spartan and modern world make this a truly remarkable
read. This novel is sure to captivate a wide range of readers.