Claire M. Andrews, who has spent her life on both sides of the Atlantic and is now an enthusiast of Vermont's rugged outdoor activities, has penned quite a remarkable debut novel. Her Daughter of Sparta is not just self-avowedly feminist in its re-shaping of a very formidable ancient female identity through the guise of mythical Daphne, but Andrews has taken the quite minor (and somewhat distasteful, it might be added) myth of her protagonist and Apollo and woven it into a truly cosmic saga. Instead of being a hapless victim of Apollo's amorous pursuit – where she is transmogrified into a laurel tree to evade the god's lust in the ancient accounts – Daphne emerges through Andrews’ reworking as so powerfully self-assured that she is as much god-saviour as god-slayer.
True to the ancient myth(s), Daphne is exceptionally wary of the deities of Mount Olympus. Magically ensnared by Artemis – who ambushes Daphne and her brother during the Spartan Carneia to ensure her compliance – the young warrior is called upon to do no less than save the very deities she holds in such low regard. Artemis forces her brother, Apollo, upon the reluctant heroine to rescue nine mysterious items stolen from the home of the gods; as the human and her godly counterpart battle seemingly endless supernatural forces – the combat rarely lets up – their own relationship (without giving too much away) also evolves. The ‘shock ending’ to the novel certainly highlights how far Andrews’ heroine has moved away from the ancient mythic stories regarding her fate, while also establishing a fine basis for at least one sequel (which the author is currently penning).
Another striking aspect of Andrews’ vision for this re-imagined Daphne-Apollo relationship is the sheer scale of the canvas she paints them upon. Stretching from Sparta to Minoan Crete, Mount Olympus to Mount Kazbek, Hades to Tartarus, Andrews also has her reluctant heroine encountering everyone from Prometheus, the Minotaur, Centaurs and Arachne, to the riddling Sphinx of Thebes (along with many, many more creatures plucked from the ancient Greek imagination). It's a virtual ‘who's who’ of Greek mythology and is a real delight – if not also a memory test – for those of us engaged by such a modern-day mythography. A neatly-illustrated map within the opening pages of the novel helps guide those who may fear contracting travel sickness from the speed Andrews moves her reader across this world.
Like her deeply mysterious arch-nemesis in the novel, Daphne also emerges as of uncertain origins and powers throughout most of the pages. Despite her tender years (only 17, which would seem implausible given her prowess if it wasn't for her not-altogether disclosed lineage), the heroine proves as much a match for Spartan manhood as the mercurial god Apollo, as well as virtually every other force she encounters. Daphne is intent upon not just her mission to rescue the stolen Olympian items in order to salvage the waning powers of the gods, but in uncovering her own true identity and that of the merciless rival who pits such obstacles against her. This sense of mystery pervades the work, as does the unrelenting brutality of the forces that she and her allies must combat. No less than the fate of Mount Olympus resides in her ability to solve all of these grim, if not also gory and tragic, challenges.
Andrews’ writing style is terse and pithy, with short chapter lengths that rapidly move the reader from one semi-mythical locale to the next. The pace and rhythm of the work is well measured. She also possesses a fine sense of humour, often reflected in the banter her protagonists deploy. It might be said that Andrews possesses the writerly confidence equivalent of her exceptionally brave chief protagonist. As publisher James Patterson points out in the brief Foreword, he knew that Daughter of Sparta was something special not just in that the author has transformed Daphne from ancient victim to contemporary heroine, but that in battling the forces of ancient misogyny this fresh Daphne emerges as one who holds her own against the very gods and is fully deserving of the traditionally-male glory she reaps.
I look forward to reading the sequel.
Open access
