The Persian Boy cover art

The Persian Boy

A Novel of Alexander the Great

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The Persian Boy

By: Mary Renault
Narrated by: Roger May
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About this listen

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander's life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas. Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas is sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but finds freedom with Alexander the Great after the Macedon army conquers his homeland.

Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper. After Alexander's mysterious death, we are left wondering if this Persian boy understood the great warrior and his ambitions better than anyone.

©1972 Mary Renault (P)2014 Audible Studios Ancient Historical Fiction Fiction Ancient History Ancient Greece

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Critic reviews

"Mary Renault's portraits of the ancient world are fierce, complex and eloquent, infused at every turn with her life-long passion for the Classics. Her characters live vividly both in their own time, and in ours." (Madeline Miller)

"All my sense of the ancient world - its values, its style, the scent of its wars and passions - comes from Mary Renault. I turned to writing historical fiction because of something I learned from Renault: that it lets you shake off the mental shackles of your own era, all the categories and labels, and write freely about what really matters to you." (Emma Donoghue)
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The narration is superb..Skilled delivery of a complex story which ranged over many decades, characters and genders.

Excellent narration perfomance

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Listened to and read for a WEA course on the author. Lovely narration and a brilliant book. Even better than ‘fire from
Heaven’ plus a chapter of ‘funeral games

UNCONQUERED

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Revisiting a book read many years ago so not quite sure what to expect but one of the best narrations I’ve listened to, thank you to Roger May !

Good story, sensitively read.

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The first novel from Mary Renault I have tried. Thoroughly enjoyed it and intend to try a few more. Roger May did a wonderful job of narrating. I
I recommend it

Thoroughly enjoyable

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enjoyed every minute I read it first when I was in my twenties now over 70 I have enjoyed someone else read it to me, wonderful 😀

enthralling

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Great book. I need to write 13 more words to submit this, but my advise would be to just give it a listen.

Great!

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beautifully written, excellent performance, I shall be listening to it all again very soon! I'd read one of her books many years ago and recalled I'd enjoyed the style and pace. This exceeded all my expectations!

Facinating

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What a wonderful gift, to be able to flesh out historical characters in such a convincing way! Excellent narration, too.

History fleshed out.

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Beautifully written. Intensely involving and engaging and the ancient world comes to life. The descriptions of love and loving actions and the acceptance of fate were standouts. For me, a masterpiece
Roger May is superb at creating the different voices heard and his pacing gives a sense of authority and confidence to the story.

masterful

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An excellent novel, replete with battles and descriptions of the time of Alexander. Without doubt, this is one of Mary Renault's best books. She really "brings to life" the .atmosphere of the time. I was truly sorry when I finished the story I enjoyed it so much.
The narrator was first class. He ensured the novel became completely enjoyable.

Brilliant !

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