We begin though with Clytemnestra who introduces us to her family: Rather than just use Elektra’s point of view, Saint also uses Clytemnestra and to a slightly lesser extent, Cassandra – the Trojan princess prophetess who was cursed never to be believed. Agamemnon is the brother of Menelaus, born of the line of the cursed House of Atreus, who married half-sisters Clytemnestra and Helen respectively (Helen being born from an egg after Zeus as a swan raped Leda, their mother).Ĭentral to this family’s story is the siege of Troy, and having studied book two of Virgil’s Aeneid for my Latin O-level all those years ago and enjoying this strand of ancient Greek myth and legend ever since, I was looking forward to Saint’s version told by the women. Her primary character this time is Elektra: the daughter of Agamemnon and Clytemnestra, and sister of Iphigenia and Orestes. She’s back this year with another novel named after an ancient Greek heroine. Last year Jennifer Saint’s first novel Ariadne (reviewed here on its recent paperback release) was a huge bestseller and great fun to read. As an Amazon Associate, I may earn a small amount from qualifying purchases.The current vogue for feminist retellings of stories from Greek and Roman myths and legends is showing no signs of slowing down and long may it continue. This post contains Amazon Affiliate links. You can see my reviews of Jennifer Saint’s Ariadne and Madeline Miller’s Circe and The Song of Achilles here. Įlektra (Flatiron Books, May 3, 2022) is available through: Although Saint’s prose doesn’t quite rise to the majesty of Madeline Miller’s in Circe and The Song of Achilles, I’d still rate this a five-star read. The connections between the three women are rich and complex, particularly the twisted relationship between Clytemnestra and Elektra. Jennifer Saint weaves the stories of these three women together effortlessly. Cassandra has predicted the Trojan War and its devastating end-to no avail.

She hates her mother for killing Agamemnon. Elektra, a “daddy’s girl,” has waited impatiently for the war to end to prove to her father that she’s grown into the royal daughter he envisioned. Clytemnestra determines to kill her husband for revenge.

Later, her hatred is cemented when she learns that Agamemnon has taken Cassandra, a female prisoner from Troy, to serve as his concubine. Clytemnestra, after Agamemnon kills their daughter Iphigenia to obtain a good wind to sail to Troy, begins to hate her husband. Cassandra, the “mad” daughter of King Priam and his wife, Hecuba, is cursed by Apollo to be able to predict the future yet have no one believe her. First are Clytemnestra and Elektra herself, a mother-daughter duo that demonstrates the tragic interconnection between their fates. Elektra follows three different women through the Trojan War.

Elektra saint