Originally published: 15 June 2023

Author: Susan C Wilson

Published by: Neem Tree Press

Genre: Greek Mythology

Length: 300 pages

Reading dates: 6-11 December 2023

The House of Atreus is spiralling into self-destruction – a woman must find a way to break the family curse.

Queen Clytemnestra’s world shatters when Agamemnon, a rival to the throne of Mycenae, storms her palace, destroys her family and claims not only the throne but Clytemnestra herself. Tormented by her loss, she vows to do all she can to protect the children born from her unhappy marriage to Agamemnon. But when her husband casts his ruthless gaze towards the wealthy citadel of Troy, his ambitions threaten to once more destroy the family Clytemnestra loves.

From one of Greek mythology’s most reviled characters – a woman who challenged the absolute power of men – comes this fiery tale of power, family rivalry and a mother’s burning love.

Having recently found a love of Greek mythology, I was keen to read Clytemnestra’s Bind, especially after being introduced to the character of Clytemnestra as one of the main narrators in Elektra by Jennifer Saint.

Clytemnestra is happy living with her young husband Tantalus and her week old son Iphitus in Mycenae. The house of Atreus to which they belong has a long and bloody history. Atreus and Tantalus’s father Thyestes were brothers disputing who should rule Mycenae. Atreus murders Thyestes sons and serves them to him in a stew and takes the throne but Thyestes gets it back. Just a week after Iphitus is born, Atreus’s sons Agamemnon and Menelaus storm the palace, and kill Thyestes and Clytemnestra’s husband and son and Agamemnon claims the heartbroken Clytemnestra for himself, forcing him to marry him.

She forms a friendship of sorts with Aegisthus the foster brother of Agamemnon and Menelaus and tries her best to kill Agamemnon in revenge but before she is able to she finds herself pregnant with her daughter Iphigenia, whom she can’t help but love dearly despite her father. Over the years she goes on to have another daughter, the headstrong Elektra and finally a son and heir, Orestes.

Menelaus goes on to marry Helen (Clytemnestra’s sister) and when Helen leaves him for Paris and goes to Troy, war is declared.

Narrated in first person by Clytemnestra herself, the anger and fury she rightly feels towards Agamemnon is clear. I was impressed by her strength – she looses a loving husband and a new born baby, is raped by her new husband and he never treats her or her children (especially her daughters) well and has no respect for her at all. But she carries on and survives, making the best of her situation, giving her love and devotion to her children. She herself had a happy childhood with loving parents and she is saddened by how little Agamemnon has to do with his children, and has to deal with their disappointment when he rejects them again and again. Despite his treatment of them, Elektra especially can see no faults in her father and tries her hardest to earn his approval.

The book ends with a glimmer of hope – Agamemnon is at war in Troy and while Clytemnestra is heartbroken, he has left her to rule, alongside his foster brother Aegisthus in his absence. She has formed a close bond with him as they have a mutual dislike of Agamemnon and this gives her the strength she needs to come up with a plan to fight back.

What I found really useful was the family tree at the beginning of the book which I referred to often!

A brilliant read – gritty and dark but full of vivid descriptions of the life and traditions of ancient Greece. Clytemnestra’s Bind is the first of a trilogy – Book 2 is called Helen’s Judgement and will be out later in 2024 and I can’t wait!

Thank you to Dave from TheWriteReads for inviting me on the tour and to Neem Tree Press for a copy of the book.

About the author:

Susan C Wilson has a degree in journalism from Napier University and a diploma in classical studies from the Open University. She has worked in such environments as the Scottish Courts and the Scottish Parliament. As a writer she loves to explore what makes us human: the eternal motivations, desires and instincts that cross time and place. She also aims to make ancient stories resonate with a modern audience, through historical fiction and contemporary retellings. Her debut novel, The House of Atreus: Clytemnestra’s Bind was longlisted for the Mslexia Novel Competition 2019 and will be published by Neem Tree Press in June 2023. This is the first of an epic trilogy and explores the Greek myth of Queen Clytemnestra from a feminist perspective.

Twitter: https://twitter.com/BronzeAgeWummin
Website: https://www.susancwilson.co.uk/