Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction 2020One of the Guardian's and TLS's 'Best Books of 2019'In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective for fans of Madeline Miller and Pat Barker. This was never the story of one woman or two. It was the story of them all . . . In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen. From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women embroiled in the legendary war. Powerfully told from an all-female perspective, in A Thousand Ships, Natalie Haynes puts the women, girls and goddesses at the centre of the story. 'With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism, Natalie Haynes gives a much-needed voice to the silenced women of the Trojan War' – Madeline Miller, author of Circe's gripping feminist masterpiece' – Deborah Frances-White, The Guilty Feminist
“This is the women’s war, just as much as the men’s. They have waited long enough for their turn.”

This was never the story of one woman or two. It was the story of them all.

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands of the Greeks, to the Amazon princess who fought Achilles on their behalf, to Penelope awaiting the return of Odysseus, to the three goddesses whose feud started it all, these are the stories of the women whose lives, loves, and rivalries were forever altered by this long and tragic war.

A woman’s epic powerfully imbued with new life, A Thousand Ships puts the women, girls, and goddesses at the centre of the Western world’s most incredible tale ever told.