The Last of the Wine: A Virago Modern Classic
Mary Renault
Sep 2026 · Little, Brown Book Group · Narrated by Barnaby Edwards and Joan Walker
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A VIVID, SWEEPING SAGA OF QUEER LOVE AND POLITICS IN ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, FOR FANS OF SONG OF ACHILLES AND THE ODYSSEY
'Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART
'Arresting and beautiful and moving . . . decades ahead of its time' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
Your love made me. Do not take it away; for without love I am a temple forsaken by its god
Athens and Sparta, the mighty city states of ancient Greece, have been locked together in conflict for a quarter of a century. Alexias the Athenian comes of age in these turbulent times, as the golden age fractures into uncertainty and chaos. No longer protected by his family's noble status, he is drawn to the controversial teachings of Socrates - and to another of the philosopher's young followers, Lysis.
The two young men form a passionate bond, becoming both friends and lovers. Together, they learn to hunt and to love, to debate and to wrestle, to grapple with family and loyalty. But all the while, fate leads Alexias to the moment he must stand alongside Lysis in the last great battle of the Peloponnesian War.
'A remarkable novel, vivid and moving . . . a glowing work of art' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Of her Greek fictions, The Last of the Wine [is] her most moving' EMMA DONOGHUE
'Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART
'Arresting and beautiful and moving . . . decades ahead of its time' LONDON REVIEW OF BOOKS
Your love made me. Do not take it away; for without love I am a temple forsaken by its god
Athens and Sparta, the mighty city states of ancient Greece, have been locked together in conflict for a quarter of a century. Alexias the Athenian comes of age in these turbulent times, as the golden age fractures into uncertainty and chaos. No longer protected by his family's noble status, he is drawn to the controversial teachings of Socrates - and to another of the philosopher's young followers, Lysis.
The two young men form a passionate bond, becoming both friends and lovers. Together, they learn to hunt and to love, to debate and to wrestle, to grapple with family and loyalty. But all the while, fate leads Alexias to the moment he must stand alongside Lysis in the last great battle of the Peloponnesian War.
'A remarkable novel, vivid and moving . . . a glowing work of art' NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW
'Of her Greek fictions, The Last of the Wine [is] her most moving' EMMA DONOGHUE
A VIVID, SWEEPING SAGA OF QUEER LOVE AND POLITICS IN ANCIENT GREECE, FROM THE QUEEN OF HISTORICAL FICTION, FOR FANS OF SONG OF ACHILLES AND THE ODYSSEY
'Renault's eye for intimacy is amazing' DOUGLAS STUART
'Arresting and beautiful and moving . . . decades ahead of its time' LONDON REVIEW OF BO...
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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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