The Persian Boy: A Novel of Alexander the Great: A Virago Modern Classic
Mary Renault
Oct 2026 · Little, Brown Book Group · Narrated by Kris Dyer and Roger May
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A GROUNDBREAKING QUEER CLASSIC AND POWERFUL REIMAGINING OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT THROUGH THE EYES OF HIS LOVER, FOR FANS OF SONG OF ACHILLES AND THE ODYSSEY
'One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS
'I love to find queer representation in historical fiction . . . Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART
'Fierce, complex and eloquent' MADELINE MILLER
'Mary Renault is a shining light' HILARY MANTEL
I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a king.
And, I said to myself, looking after him as he walked away, I will have him, if I die for it.
Bagoas, abducted as a boy and sold as a eunuch, has been transported to the heart of the Persian court as courtesan to King Darius. But when the Macedon army conquers his homeland, Bagoas finds freedom at the hands of their golden young commander, whose name is already becoming a legend: Alexander.
Their encounter sparks a passionate devotion that shapes the Persian boy's future - and deepens into a relationship that will sustain them both through assassination plots, political intrigue and the threat of Alexander's own restless ambition. This is a spellbinding tale of power, loyalty and loss - a vision of history transfigured by love.
'Nowhere else in fiction have Alexander's beauty and charisma blazed with such potency' TOM HOLLAND
'Passionate and captivating' SEÁN HEWITT
'All my sense of the ancient world - its value, its style, the scent of its wars and passions - comes from Mary Renault' EMMA DONOGHUE
'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the twentieth century' ANTONIA SENIOR, THE TIMES
'One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS
'I love to find queer representation in historical fiction . . . Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART
'Fierce, complex and eloquent' MADELINE MILLER
'Mary Renault is a shining light' HILARY MANTEL
I thought, There goes my lord, whom I was born to follow. I have found a king.
And, I said to myself, looking after him as he walked away, I will have him, if I die for it.
Bagoas, abducted as a boy and sold as a eunuch, has been transported to the heart of the Persian court as courtesan to King Darius. But when the Macedon army conquers his homeland, Bagoas finds freedom at the hands of their golden young commander, whose name is already becoming a legend: Alexander.
Their encounter sparks a passionate devotion that shapes the Persian boy's future - and deepens into a relationship that will sustain them both through assassination plots, political intrigue and the threat of Alexander's own restless ambition. This is a spellbinding tale of power, loyalty and loss - a vision of history transfigured by love.
'Nowhere else in fiction have Alexander's beauty and charisma blazed with such potency' TOM HOLLAND
'Passionate and captivating' SEÁN HEWITT
'All my sense of the ancient world - its value, its style, the scent of its wars and passions - comes from Mary Renault' EMMA DONOGHUE
'The Alexander Trilogy stands as one of the most important works of fiction in the twentieth century' ANTONIA SENIOR, THE TIMES
A GROUNDBREAKING QUEER CLASSIC AND POWERFUL REIMAGINING OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT THROUGH THE EYES OF HIS LOVER, FOR FANS OF SONG OF ACHILLES AND THE ODYSSEY
'One of the greatest historical novels ever written' SARAH WATERS
'I love to find queer representation in historical fiction . . . Renault's ...
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About the author
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was born in London and educated at St Hughs, Oxford. She trained as a nurse at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary, where she met her lifelong partner, Julie Mullard. Her first novel, Purposes of Love, was published in 1937. In 1948, after North Face won a MGM prize worth $150,000, she and Mullard emigrated to South Africa. There, Renault was able to write forthrightly about homosexual relationships for the first time - in her masterpiece, The Charioteer (1953), and then in her first historical novel, The Last of the Wine (1956). Renault's vivid novels set in the ancient world brought her worldwide fame. In 2010 Fire From Heaven was shortlisted for the Lost Booker of 1970.
Mary Renault (1905-1983) was born in London and educated at St Hughs, Oxford. She trained as a nurse at Oxford's Radcliffe Infirmary, where she met her lifelong partner, Julie Mullard. Her first novel, Purposes of Love, was published in 1937. In 1948, after North Face won a MGM prize worth $150,0...
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