"The 4th century BC and the youth of Alexander the Great are marvellously reimagined in Lyon's justifiably garlanded novel. Aristotle returns from Athens at the request of Philip II to Macedonia, where he becomes tutor to the king's son Alexander, presented here as a hotheaded, inquisitive young prince already showing signs of the limitless ambition and tactical genius that would make him one of the greatest empire-builders in history. The daily intrigues of the court, the visceral aspects of battle, philosophical discussion and Aristotle's household are all evoked in measured, burnished prose, which combines thrilling immediacy with a stately timelessness. Aristotle's black moods and Alexander's probable latent psychosis in particular are fascinatingly drawn."
To read Catherine Taylor's full article for
The Guardian, please click
here.
