or
Sign in to turn on 1-Click ordering.
 
 
Express Checkout with PayPhrase
What's this? | Create PayPhrase
Sorry!
More Buying Choices
34 used & new from $2.82

Have one to sell? Sell yours here
 
   
Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad'
 
 
Tell the Publisher!
I’d like to read this book on Kindle

Don’t have a Kindle? Get your Kindle here.
 
  

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad' (Mass Market Paperback)

~ (Author)
4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)

Price: $6.50 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details
  Special Offers Available
o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o o
In Stock.
Ships from and sold by Amazon.com. Gift-wrap available.

Want it delivered Wednesday, November 11? Choose One-Day Shipping at checkout. Details
28 new from $2.82 6 used from $3.56

Formats

Amazon Price New from Used from
  Hardcover $13.57 $11.54 $9.88
  Paperback $9.81 $5.86 $51.81
  Mass Market Paperback $6.50 $2.82 $3.56
  Unknown Binding -- -- --

Frequently Bought Together

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad' + The Wanderings of Odysseus + D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
Price For All Three: $26.22

Show availability and shipping details

  • This item: Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad' by Rosemary Sutcliff

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • The Wanderings of Odysseus by Rosemary Sutcliff

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details

  • D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths by Ingri d'Aulaire

    In Stock.
    Ships from and sold by Amazon.com.
    Eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25. Details


Special Offers and Product Promotions

  • This item is eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. Eligible products include select Books, Single Copy Magazines, and Home & Garden items. Buy any 4 eligible items and get the lowest-priced item free. Here's how (restrictions apply)
  • Over a hundred thousand items are eligible for our 4-for-3 promotion. How do I find more eligible items?


Customers Who Bought This Item Also Bought

The Odyssey (Puffin Classics)

The Odyssey (Puffin Classics)

by Geraldine McCaughrean
4.1 out of 5 stars (7)  $4.99
The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus (Trophy Picture Books)

The Gods and Goddesses of Olympus (Trophy Picture Books)

by Aliki
4.6 out of 5 stars (21)  $6.99
The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy

The Children's Homer: The Adventures of Odysseus and the Tale of Troy

by Padraic Colum
3.7 out of 5 stars (26)  $9.95
In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid

In Search of a Homeland: The Story of the Aeneid

by Penelope Lively
5.0 out of 5 stars (5)  $16.37
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths

by Ingri d'Aulaire
4.8 out of 5 stars (166)  $13.22
Explore similar items

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Sutcliff, who died last year, authored numerous retellings of canonical texts for younger readers. Here she brings into vivid focus the mythic story of the Trojan War, with all of its visually dramatic elements. While carefully tempering the bias towards the Greeks that exists in the original poem, Sutcliff's text leaves many of the epic's powerful metaphors intact: "The dark tide of warriors poured through and became a river of flame." Also preserved are a good many disturbing images ("Hector's body was dragged behind them, twisting and lurching over the rough ground, his dark hair flying and fouled with dust and all the filth of the battlefield"); and while there is no doubt that this authenticity maintains the saga's integrity and enhances its impact, younger or particularly sensitive readers may be disturbed by the violence. Accompanying the dense, earnestly told tale are Lee's cool-toned watercolors, which frequently take up the greater portion of the large format double-page spreads. Dreamy, yet highly detailed and filled with representational images, these illustrations are in keeping with the story's mythic grandeur. All ages.
Copyright 1993 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.


From Booklist

Gr. 5 and up. "Achilles sat among his ships, nursing his anger as though it were a red rose in his breast." The late Rosemary Sutcliff always knew how to humanize the epic heroes without diminishing their power. Now, with the same kind of lyrical prose that distinguished her Arthurian trilogy, she takes on Homer's Iliad. People whose names we all know--Helen, Hector, Achilles, Odysseus, etc.--are all woven into one great story, with the jealous gods taking sides in the Greeks' 10-year siege of the city of Troy. Sutcliff's strong rhythms and Lee's misty watercolors in shades of brown, blue, and silvergray make this large-size volume great for reading aloud. There are dull patches about desultory battles, funeral games, and the weary machinations of gods and people, but you can skip those and get to the dramatic confrontations. Achilles sulks in his tent, then driven mad with grief and rage at the death of his friend Patroclus, he not only kills Hector, but also drags the body through the dust and filth of the battlefield. For all the rules of honor, this is a filthy battlefield, "clotted with blood," the soldiers drunk with fire and killing. Lee's illustrations show gateways choked with soldiers and chariots, men and women bent with sorrow. The climax, the story of the Wooden Horse, is amazingly told, taut with cunning and terror. Hazel Rochman --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

  • Reading level: Ages 9-12
  • Mass Market Paperback: 160 pages
  • Publisher: Laurel Leaf; Reprint edition (December 13, 2005)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 055349483X
  • ISBN-13: 978-0553494839
  • Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.1 x 0.7 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 3.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (31 customer reviews)
  • Amazon.com Sales Rank: #31,537 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

    Popular in these categories: (What's this?)

    #37 in  Books > Children's Books > Literature > Fairy Tales, Folk Tales & Myths > Greek & Roman
    #37 in  Books > Literature & Fiction > World Literature > Mythology > Children's Books > Greek & Roman

More About the Author

Rosemary Sutcliff
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Visit Amazon's Rosemary Sutcliff Page

Inside This Book (learn more)
Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Surprise Me!
Search Inside This Book:


What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?

Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad'
84% buy the item featured on this page:
Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of 'The Iliad' 4.5 out of 5 stars (31)
$6.50
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths
7% buy
D'Aulaires' Book of Greek Myths 4.8 out of 5 stars (166)
$13.22
The Wanderings of Odysseus
4% buy
The Wanderings of Odysseus 4.6 out of 5 stars (21)
$6.50
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths
3% buy
D'Aulaires' Book of Norse Myths 4.7 out of 5 stars (29)
$16.47

Tags Customers Associate with This Product

 (What's this?)
Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
 
(1)

Your tags: Add your first tag
 

Sell a Digital Version of This Book in the Kindle Store

If you are a publisher or author and hold the digital rights to a book, you can sell a digital version of it in our Kindle Store. Learn more

 

Customer Reviews

31 Reviews
5 star:
 (23)
4 star:
 (4)
3 star:
 (2)
2 star:
 (1)
1 star:
 (1)
 
 
 
 
 
Average Customer Review
4.5 out of 5 stars (31 customer reviews)
 
 
 
 
Share your thoughts with other customers:
Most Helpful Customer Reviews

 
54 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars an excellent introduction to the epic!, March 31, 2000
By John Anderson (Bar Harbor, ME USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   
Having been brought up in a strong Classical background I was a little nervous of a "modern children's version" of the Illiad. I shouldn't have worried. I actually bought BLACK SHIPS for an undergraduate that I was tutoring on sources of modern British literature, but my 7 year old daughter took it away before I could get it to the college. I worried at first that Clare might be scared by some of the very dramatic pictures, but she was enthralled with the whole story and kept coming back to it for days afterwards. I should add that my undergrad was also entranced once I finnaly got it to her and felt that it compared very well with the complete translation of the original that we also read. New age? Hardly! This is a scholarly-but-fun-interpretaion of a gem.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
43 of 45 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Again and Again, July 22, 2000
By A Customer
Both my husband and I love the Iliad and wanted our children to grow up with it. We have about eight versions of the Iliad at home, and while our children like all of them, the Sutcliffe is far and above the best -- it doesn't patronize, it loses very very little of the plot's narrative, ethical, or emotional complexity, and the reviewer who claimed that "moral messages" are lost must not realize that Homer himself, thank the Gods, moralizes very little and that everything that could reasonably be called by that slightly unenchanting term 'message' is well and alive in this version. Over the last two years, we have read it aloud to both children (now 6+7) at least five times, both have read it or in it by themselves as well, and neither we nor they have grown tired of it. It isn't an easy book to read for younger children, and they need their parents the first time around, but its relative difficulty prolongs its shelflife considerably -- I imagine our children will return to it for quite a few years. The rather dramatic art work is certainly not 'new age,' but neither does it classicize. It's made a great present for our children's friends. My only complaint is that it hasn't come out in paperback.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)



 
16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars Rewarding read-aloud or read-alone book, August 6, 2001
I am so grateful to have found this excellent version of the Iliad. The heroes, the action and the richness of the story are all maintained in this very accessible version of the classic. The story is broken into chapters that are each a good size for a bedtime read--although my 10 year old son pleaded for "1 more chapter" at the end of each one, and I continued because it is an enjoyable read-aloud. He finally took it himself and read it through. Any good listener who enjoys a rich story - age 7+ - would enjoy this as a read-aloud. Recommended.
Comment Comment | Permalink | Was this review helpful to you? Yes No (Report this)


Share your thoughts with other customers: Create your own review
 
 
 
Most Recent Customer Reviews

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Rosemary Sutcliff Success
Retelling the story of the Iliad has to be one of the most daunting challanges any children's author could ever undertake. Read more
Published 2 months ago by Marco Antonio Abarca

4.0 out of 5 stars Pretty good
I enjoyed reading this retelling of the Iliad and I guess my only disappointment was that it recreated an end for the war, which is not included in the Iliad; plus there were a... Read more
Published 4 months ago by K. Bryant

4.0 out of 5 stars Review of Black Ships Before Troy by Dan the Man




Black Ships Before Troy written by Rosemary Sutcliff brings together the ancient epic tale of the Iliad in a language that someone today can... Read more
Published 5 months ago by TEAMS 7th Grade Writing Class

5.0 out of 5 stars Fabulous Read
I checked this out from the library to see if it might be something my young son would enjoy, as he's become very interested in the Trojan War after brief exposure in a history... Read more
Published 8 months ago by Lorelei

5.0 out of 5 stars A Masterful Retelling of the Iliad, Ground-zero of Western Literature
A children's book perhaps, but not childish. This introduction to Homer's masterpiece retains much of the grim battle-violence, the female captives, and the complex supernatural... Read more
Published 9 months ago by Oxygene

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic retelling of the Iliad
I'm reading this to my daughter, who loves the story. Some of the writing is a little complex for a first grader to understand, but this version has a beauty to the poetry of the... Read more
Published 19 months ago by R. Smith

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautifully Conceived
Black Ships Before Troy is a marvelous retelling of the story of the Trojan War. The book goes beyond The Iliad to include the stories leading up to the war and what happens... Read more
Published 20 months ago by D. A Wend

5.0 out of 5 stars We love it
Hello,

We love this book....The artwork is fantastic and the kids really love it when it is time for me to read to them..... Read more
Published 21 months ago by whittymomma

5.0 out of 5 stars Great way to introduce the classics and literature to boys
I read "Black Ships Before Troy" and "The Wanderings of Odysseus" to my then 8-year-old son, who was enthralled by both. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Pizzercat

5.0 out of 5 stars Black Ships Before Troy (Hardback edition)
I have read several versions of The Iliad and after checking this book out from the library, decided this was the one I wanted in my permanent library. Read more
Published 23 months ago by Debbie

Only search this product's reviews



Customer Discussions

This product's forum
Discussion Replies Latest Post
No discussions yet

Ask questions, Share opinions, Gain insight
Start a new discussion
Topic:
First post:
Prompts for sign-in
 


Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
Search all Amazon discussions
   




Product Information from the Amapedia Community

Beta (What's this?)


Look for Similar Items by Category


Look for Similar Items by Subject

 

Feedback

If you need help or have a question for Customer Service, contact us.
 Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
Is there any other feedback you would like to provide?

Your comments can help make our site better for everyone.


Your Recent History

 (What's this?)

After viewing product detail pages or search results, look here to find an easy way to navigate back to pages you are interested in.