tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post656935288605461654..comments2024-03-23T12:38:46.260+00:00Comments on The History Girls: My First History Teacher by Caroline LawrenceMary Hoffmanhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-67398261313777957482012-01-30T20:08:23.312+00:002012-01-30T20:08:23.312+00:00I've just glimpsed a proof copy of "Gods ...I've just glimpsed a proof copy of "Gods & Warriors", Michelle Paver's new Bronze Age series, published by Puffin August 2012. If anyone could shoulder the Mary Renault mantle for the YA market of the 21st century, it could be her! <br /><br />A great writer and kindred spirit! :-)Caroline Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-90750262787521756672012-01-14T09:46:43.271+00:002012-01-14T09:46:43.271+00:00I love your blog. Happy New Year!I love your blog. Happy New Year!Chimney Sweep Portlandhttp://www.rooftopchimneyandroofservices.comnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-72611014947905121132012-01-12T19:50:19.096+00:002012-01-12T19:50:19.096+00:00Great post, Caroline. I first read The Mask of Apo...Great post, Caroline. I first read The Mask of Apollo when I was about 11, after a reference to it in one of Antonia Forrest's Kingscote School books. I couldn't really make head or tale of it! I read it again aged about 20 and loved it.Alihttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02536038271600515021noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-19229762260747449992012-01-11T14:13:49.857+00:002012-01-11T14:13:49.857+00:00Wonderful post, Caroline. I'm curious about Th...Wonderful post, Caroline. I'm curious about The Last Of The Wine now; The Alexander Trilogy made a huge impression on me, and has stayed with me ever since.fionadunbarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/14774780945853573692noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-36979523327887669652012-01-10T20:12:43.042+00:002012-01-10T20:12:43.042+00:00I am actually reading The Last of the Wine, having...I am actually reading The Last of the Wine, having bought it second hand before Christmas. It has me riveted as always. And yet - there are some fascinating vignettes of women - she did have a woman philosopher, who actually lived (I mean there was such a person among Plato's pupils.) I feel as if she regarded herself as a man. Very glad to read your post, Caroline!Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-67549824052000922922012-01-10T00:19:23.662+00:002012-01-10T00:19:23.662+00:00Mary Renault was my "gateway drug" to fa...Mary Renault was my "gateway drug" to falling in love with ancient history as well! After reading this post, it may be time to pull them out and re-read them.Vicky Alvear Shecterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17570828339389206203noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-77718789196554515972012-01-09T23:00:42.133+00:002012-01-09T23:00:42.133+00:00I hope you get a chance to visit Greece, Mary! It ...I hope you get a chance to visit Greece, Mary! It is a marvellous country. My three favourite places would probably be Athens in the spring or winter, Olympia in the summer, Rhodes Old Town in the autumn, and some nearby islands if you can fit them in...Caroline Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-90659550540971918292012-01-09T18:41:32.662+00:002012-01-09T18:41:32.662+00:00Caroline, it has been years since I read "Las...Caroline, it has been years since I read "Last of the Wine" and your post makes me want to revisit it. I read it after finding Renault's "The Persian Boy" at a dusty little antique shop out in the wilds of eastern Oregon of all places. "The Persian Boy" was so compelling that I read the other two novels in the Alexander trilogy then discovered the entrancing "Last of the Wine". Since then I have also read most of Renault's other novels and her nonfiction work "The Nature of Alexander". I credit Mary Renault with my fascination for Alexander the Great and the ancient Greeks which I have since assuaged by reading Steven Pressfield's "Gates of Fire", "Tides of War", "Virtues of War" and the "Afghan Campaign" since Renault is no longer with us.<br />But I must credit Colleen McCullough's "First Man in Rome" as the novel that first ignited my passion for the ancient world and the Romans and Julius Caesar in particular. It set me on my current course of learning all that I can about the ancient world. It is McCullough's characters I imagined the first time I explored the Colosseum and the Forum Romanum. My first visit to Pompeii was another time travel experience I will never forget. I, too, have explored Ostia Antica and Hadrian's Villa in Tivoli brought the enormity of power exercised by the Caesars into clear focus. Sadly I have never had the opportunity to visit Greece and with the economy there in such upheaval it will probably be some time before I attempt it. I just hope I will be able to visit it and Crete (I've been fascinated by the Minoans since I was a little girl) before my life slips away as I am now retired with health issues creeping up on me as the years pass. Next year I hope to explore the Roman ruins of southern France then perhaps the Greek financial crisis will have resolved itself and I can finally visit some of the settings for Mary Renault's books by 2014 or so.Mary Harrschhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01812961655356354800noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-27792632729967327662012-01-09T18:07:56.080+00:002012-01-09T18:07:56.080+00:00I do so adore her work - and yet sometimes I do lo...I do so adore her work - and yet sometimes I do long for a woman.Of course there is Hippolyta in THE BULL FROM THE SEA - but what about some of the famous courtesans, like Aspasia, was it? They must have had a life, and it must have been documented a bit? She is quite dismissive of women, in a way - or am I wrong? I read The Friendly Young Ladies, but that was such an unrealistic portrait of lesbianism. However, I suppose nobody can totally transcend the time they were born into...Leslie Wilsonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15105465949970430998noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-73564886295383166422012-01-09T17:08:32.490+00:002012-01-09T17:08:32.490+00:00I have not read THE LAST OF THE WINE by the wonder...I have not read THE LAST OF THE WINE by the wonderful Mary Renault so can now look forward to losing myself in an inspiring work of fiction. What a dramatic opening paragraph! Thank you for sharing this with us.Linda B-Ahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01599899073420595717noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-40897353064444925962012-01-09T12:21:26.500+00:002012-01-09T12:21:26.500+00:00Oh, I'd forgotten how I loved her books. There...Oh, I'd forgotten how I loved her books. There was a period in my life where I devoured one after another. I must go back and re-read some of them. I travelled to Greece quite a few times in my younger years and the places came alive for me because of Mary Renault's novels. <br /><br />I've just read Pompeii, by Harris (forget his first name) and now I'm in love with water engineering - and I want to go to the Bay of Naples.parlancehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11175843064324380048noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-82086687529170909812012-01-09T10:44:42.674+00:002012-01-09T10:44:42.674+00:00Yes, The Last of the Wine is a bit intense at time...Yes, The Last of the Wine is a bit <i>intense</i> at times, but I think that can make it all the more appealing to teenagers. And the things that capture our hearts at that age will always remain dear. <br /><br />I re-read it every few years, but mostly just do random dips, to get a taste and remind myself of its flavour.Caroline Lawrencehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07249424644829463560noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-22814666693035974642012-01-09T10:18:47.146+00:002012-01-09T10:18:47.146+00:00I came very late to Mary Renault and read The King...I came very late to Mary Renault and read The King Must Die and the Bll from the Sea with great enjoyment. Some marvellous stuff in there. But I found The Last of the Wine very hard to get into after those two. At last it began to work its magic but it took a while.<br /><br />It was very elegaic, I thought.<br /><br />Now I want to read the Alexander trilogy. <br /><br />I did Classics A level (Latin and Greek - this was long before you could do "Classiv" without knowing the languages) and am so happy that I did.<br /><br />Wonderful that Mary Renault (who always sounds to me like me and my car) changed your life so radically, Caroline!Mary Hoffmanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06241989732624913706noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-51989522907820209032012-01-09T09:31:40.678+00:002012-01-09T09:31:40.678+00:00I quite agree Caroline! Marvellous post altogether...I quite agree Caroline! Marvellous post altogether. Iliad being so modern is what struck my daughter when she first read it. Couldn't believe that Homer was writing about stuff that she herself experienced.adelehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15826710558292792068noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5502671101756463249.post-79830765603743091132012-01-09T09:13:38.259+00:002012-01-09T09:13:38.259+00:00Oh what a marvellous post, Caroline! You're so...Oh what a marvellous post, Caroline! You're so right, one can open her books anywhere and find something amazing. I've never learned Latin or Greek, but because of Mary Renault I began reading Plato in translation, years ago in my teens, in those wonderful black-spined Penguin editions, It all goes to show how true it is that books can change lives!Katherine Langrishhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12529700103932422873noreply@blogger.com