The Wolf-Girl, The Greeks and The Gods

Tom Holland has a deserved reputation as a very good writer of popular history. His books are based on solid, in-depth research and usually come with a distinctive and original point of view. In recent years he’s also gained an audience as half of a double act with fellow historian Dominic Sandbrook – their podcast The Rest is History is hugely successful. He’s now written his first book for children, and it’s terrific.

The Wolf-Girl, The Greeks and the Gods tells the story of the 5th century BC wars between the Ancient Greek city states, mostly Athens and Sparta, and the enormous Persian Empire. Of course it’s a familiar tale, full of characters and events – such as the final stand of King Leonidas of Sparta and his 300 men at Thermopylae against the vast Persian army – that have been written about countless times before.

But Holland has brought real originality to it. He’s done that by inserting a central character into the events, in the form of the Spartan Queen Gorgo, wife to Leonidas. She provides a first-person narrative, taking us back to her girlhood and explaining how the wars originally came about. It’s a neat device, and it’s good to see a female character at the heart of what is almost always a relentlessly masculine story.

Even better, Gorgo isn’t just an observer, she’s an active protagonist, driving the tale forward. Here it’s important to say that there’s a strong fantasy element to the story. Gorgo may have been a real historical character, and historical events are covered. But in this story Gorgo is more mythical, doing many things – such as being present at various battles – that she certainly would not have done in real life.

The Greek Gods make lots of appearances in the story too, and there are the strange metamorphoses you would expect in a tale of this kind. Gorgo herself is the wolf-girl of the title, and the passages where she is transformed are among the best in the book. There’s no shying away from the darkness and violence of history and the myths either, but children will love all that and Holland gets the balance right.

Special mention must be made of illustrator Jason Cockcroft, who has produced a superb set of images for the story. They reminded me of Charles Keeping’s work with writers such as Rosemary Sutcliff and Henry Treece, and in The God Beneath the Sea by Leon Garfield and Edward Blishen. Walker haven’t stinted on production values either – the book is a beautiful, large-format hardback that’s a tactile delight.

All in all, The Wolf-Girl, the Greeks and the Gods definitely has the feel of a contemporary classic. Could it be one of those collections of myths that appear on prize shortlists, a book children will encounter with pleasure and remember for the rest of their lives? I think it might well be, but who knows what plans the deathless Gods might have for us poor lowly mortals? Only history will ultimately tell.