The legend of the Trojan War - peopled with gods and heroes - is one of the greatest of stories and in this thrillingly imagined and startlingly original debut novel, a brilliant new voice tells the story of Troy from a unique perspective - from that of the women caught up in this epic tale ...

"Once in a while something comes along that's so utterly right, so necessary for now, that you wonder why nobody thought of it before. Emily Hauser's stunning debut novel For the Most Beautiful fits this space: a novel that re-imagines the oldest of territories in the freshest of ways - we all grow up learning the story of Helen, whose beauty launched a thousand ships, but why has nobody thought to tell the story of the fall of Troy from the viewpoints of the women central to the action ... Anyway, it's here now, and it's beautiful: rich, fluid prose combined with a sense of time and place that brings ancient Troy wildly, raucously, passionately alive and tells at last the stories of those who really mattered." -- MANDA SCOTT, bestselling author of Boudica and Into the Fire "Emily Hauser gives us one of the most memorable and important events in ancient myth and history through the eyes of the women who were present and involved in the action. It's a feast for the senses, richly described and effortlessly easy to read. It brings to life an ancient world long gone, and in so doing reminds us of the traumas and costs of war, which are sadly still so much a part of our world today." -- MICHAEL SCOTT, presenter of Rome's Invisible City "Dateline Troy 1250 BCE. In this her sparkling debut novel classicist Emily Hauser offers a fresh take on the old but living legend spun so artfully in Homer's Iliad. By exploring and exposing their feelings, motivations and thoughts she puts us into the shoes of two key female characters that the original epic poem left tantalisingly undeveloped. Through the rich inner lives of Briseis and Krysayis Ms Hauser not only tells a ripping good story but also causes us to reflect anew on the meanings of war, especially as that affects and afflicts women." -- PAUL CARTLEDGE, Professor of Ancient History at Cambridge

Born in Brighton and brought up in Suffolk, EMILY HAUSER studied Classics at Cambridge where she was taught by Mary Beard. She then went to Harvard as a Fulbright Scholar and now studies and teaches at Yale, where she is completing her PhD. For the Most Beautiful - the first book in the Golden Apple trilogy - is her debut novel.