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The Bull from the Sea
A Virago Modern Classic
Series: Virago Modern Classics
Brief Description
Mary Renault is a shining light - HILARY MANTEL Mary Renault's portraits of the ancient world are fierce, complex and eloquent - MADELINE MILLER The sequel to The King Must Die. The Bull from the Sea continues the story of the hero Theseus after his return...
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See moreThe sequel to Mary Renault's classic The King Must Die, which continues the story of the mythological hero Theseus after his return from Crete.
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Description
Mary Renault is a shining light - HILARY MANTEL
Mary Renault's portraits of the ancient world are fierce, complex and eloquent - MADELINE MILLER
The sequel to The King Must Die. The Bull from the Sea continues the story of the hero Theseus after his return from Crete.
Having freed the city of Athens from the terrible tribute demanded by the ruler of Knossosβthe sacrifice of noble youths and maidens to the appetite of the Labyrinth's monsterβTheseus has returned home to find his father dead and himself the new king. But his adventures have only just begun: he still must confront the Amazons, capture their queen, Hippolyta, and face the tragic results of Phaedra's jealous rage.
Piecing together fragments of myth and ancient history, this thrilling retelling of the legend of Theseus brings to life a world in which heroes battled monsters and gods strode the earth.
An important and wonderful writer... she set a course into serious-minded, psychologically intense historical fiction that today seems more important than ever - Sam Jordison, GuardianSeries: Virago Modern Classics
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Book Details
INFORMATION
ISBN: 9780349018584
Publisher: Little, Brown Book Group
Format: Paperback / softback
Date Published: 10 July 2025
Country: United Kingdom
Imprint: Virago Press Ltd
Contributors:
- Introduction by Bettany Hughes
Audience: General / adult
DIMENSIONS
Spine width: 32.0mm
Width: 132.0mm
Height: 202.0mm
Weight: 240g
Pages: 304
About the Author
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was born in London and educated at St Hughs, Oxford. She trained as a nurse at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary, where she met her lifelong partner, Julie Mullard. Her first novel, Purposes of Love, was published in 1937. In 1948, after North Face won a MGM prize worth $150,000, she and Mullard emigrated to South Africa. There, Renault was able to write forthrightly about homosexual relationships for the first time - in her masterpiece, The Charioteer (1953), and then in her first historical novel, The Last of the Wine (1956). Renault's vivid novels set in the ancient world brought her worldwide fame. In 2010 Fire From Heaven was shortlisted for the Lost Booker of 1970.
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