Mysteries Of Eleusis
(Paperback)
Publishing Details
Mysteries Of Eleusis
By (Author) Margaret Doody
Cornerstone
Arrow Books Ltd
1st March 2006
United Kingdom
Classifications
General
Fiction
823.914
Physical Properties
Paperback
512
Width 110mm, Height 178mm, Spine 31mm
270g
Description
In the winter of 330-329 BC Athens itself suffers a series of alarming thefts and home robberies. It seems that nobody is safe. The great philosopher Aristotle helps his former student Stephanos investigate a break- in and brutal murder at the house of one of his Athenian neighbours. The man fingered for the crime turns against Stephanos just as he is planning his marriage. It is difficult to arrange a big fat Greek wedding when someone seems to be trying to kill you. Elsewhere bodies begin to pile up - who will be bludgeoned or stabbed or strangled next Stephanos' bride is Philomela. Her parental home is Eleusis, famous for the Sanctuary of Demeter and Persephone, home of the sacred site of the Mysteries of Eleusis. Religious initiation is open to all adult Greek speakers, slave and free, with the exception of anyone guilty of homicide. Stephanos, Philomela and Aristotle undertake mystic initiation in a complex ritual whose ultimate secrets cannot be spoken, on pain of death. Eleusis conceals many secrets, and revelation of the truth must await the night of the Mystery celebration itself. This is the fifth novel featuring Aristotle as the first detective of the ancient world, following Aristotle Detective, Aristotle and Poetic Justice, The Secrets of Life and Poison In Athens.
Reviews
'Idyllic... violent... Nostalgia for lovers of Greece... fun for classicists' Times Literary Supplement
'Why did no one think of this before' The Times
'Wit in a first novel is rare enough, and when allied to the skilful unravelling of a murder story set in Ancient Athens it makes us doubly grateful for Aristotle Detective' Daily Telegraph
Author Bio
Margaret Doody teaches at the University of Notre Dame where she is the John and Barbara Glynn Family Professor of Literature. She is the author of a number of books including The True Story of the Novel, and is currently writing a book on Venice, as well as the next Aristotle book.
