Emily Hauser's work masterfully reimagines ancient myths, drawing readers into timeless narratives of ambition and heroism. Trained in Classics and holding a PhD, she brings a deep scholarly understanding to her retellings, infusing them with a modern sensibility. Her distinctive approach explores the enduring themes of victory and the complex dynamics of human relationships through captivating storytelling. Her novels invite readers to reconsider legendary tales through a fresh, compelling lens.
A New History of Homer's World, Through the Women Written Out of It
320 pages
12 hours of reading
Focusing on the untold stories of women from the Trojan War, Emily Hauser uncovers the real lives of figures like Helen of Troy, Briseis, and Penelope. This groundbreaking work challenges the male-dominated narratives of ancient history by revealing the roles of queens, mothers, warriors, and slaves through meticulous research, including original texts and recent archaeological findings. Hauser's exploration offers a fresh perspective on the Bronze Age Aegean, showcasing the significant contributions and experiences of women in the myths of Homer's epics.
"This book that shows how ancient poets broke the silence of literary gender norms to express their own voices, and thus illuminating long neglected discussions of gender in the ancient world. In How Women Became Poets, Emily Hauser provides a startling new history of classical literature that redefines the canon as a constant struggle to be heard through, and sometimes despite, gender. By bringing together recent studies in ancient authorship, gender, and performativity, Hauser offers gendered lens to issues of voice and identity in classical literature and poetry. What emerges from this is a new literary history that reframes the authors of classical literature as both enforcing and exploring gender, and shows for the first time how women broke the silence of gender norms around literary production to express their own voices. By revisiting traditional assumptions about the canon of Greek literature, and highlighting the articulated construction of masculinity in Greek poetic texts, the book places ancient women poets back onto center stage as principal actors in the drama of the debate around what it means to create poetry. Much of the importance of this work is adding in female authors to the history of Greek literature, both well-known and marginal, while demonstrating how the idea of the author was born in the battleground of gender"--
'Offers a fresh and feminist take' Madeline Miller, bestselling author of
Circe Thousands of years ago, two remarkable women found themselves swept up
in one of the greatest legends of all . Hauser's fresh perspective on one of
the great archetypal epics, in focusing on the marginalised women's stories,
makes for fascinating reading .
In For the Winner, Emily Hauser tells the compelling story of the brave,
strong and clever Atalanta as she seeks to take her rightful place in her
father's life. Her many adventures with Jason and his Argonauts kept me
utterly absorbed. Here is a heroine to cheer for, and a book to cherish.
Margot Livesey
