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ARIADNE
by Jennifer Saint (Wildfire £14.99, 400 pp)
In Ancient Greek tales, Ariadne is the Cretan Princess who fell in love with heroic Theseus and betrayed her kingdom and her king by showing Theseus the way out of the labyrinth after he’d killed her brother, The Minotaur.
Her role was given few lines, a bit-part in a story of men and gods.
Here, Ariadne takes centre stage in a lyrical, insightful re-telling that explores her motivations and emotions and the grievances caused by grumpy, cold-hearted gods and warm-blooded men, who are equally vengeful and self-interested.
Ariadne is thoughtful, loving and bewildered by the events in her life growing up to the sound of her brother’s deadly hoof beats, being abandoned on an island by her lover, marrying the god Dionysus as she valiantly attempts to forge her own destiny.