The Wandering Queen: A Novel of Dido [Hardcover]

An epic and fiercely imaginative retelling of the story of queen Dido, the legendary founder of Carthage, from the author of the national bestseller Daughters of Sparta

When the King of Tyre dies, he decrees that the rule of the kingdom will pass equally to both his children: Elissa, his clever and strong-willed daughter, and Pygmalion, her young half-brother. But Elissa, not yet skilled in the machinations of court, quickly finds herself sidelined by a band of powerful merchants in favor of her more malleable brother.

Forced out of her palace home, Elissa resolves to forge her own path. Both triumph and heartbreak await in the life that she builds, transforming herself from a sheltered princess into a strong and formidable leader. When she leads her followers on an epic journey in search of a new home in a faraway land, she earns herself a name that will echo through millennia: Dido, the wanderer.

Then one day, a mysterious stranger, Aeneas, arrives at the city gates, fleeing the Trojan War. As Dido and Aeneas are increasingly drawn to each other, Dido is forced to make an impossible choice between power and love. A gorgeously written reimagining of Greek mythology... Heywood elevates Dido from a stepping-stone on Aeneas’s epic journey to a fully wrought character with her own desires, ambitions, and flaws. Equal parts empowering and heartbreaking, the novel highlights the sacrifices women make in order to control their own destinies while remaining true to themselves. Recommended for fans of the mythological retellings of Madeline Miller and Pat Barker. −Library Journal

In this crisp, compelling narrative, Heywood reclaims Dido's legacy, showing her not merely as an ill-fated queen undone by love but also a politically savvy, determined, passionate leader. −Booklist