Provoking, unsettling, ingenious - and a delight to read
Guardian
Erudite and witty... <i>The Fall of Troy</i> skilfully interweaves classical and 19th century stories, employing motifs from both Homer and Charlotte Bronte. This is Ackroyd's most exuberant novel for years
- Michael Arditti, Daily Mail
Ackroyd imports a Mrs Rochester theme to Turkey, and the denouement has the atmosphere of a thriller, with innocents running for their lives
- David Horspool, Sunday Times
Lurid and generally entertaining drama
- Sue Gaisford, Independent on Sunday
<i>The Fall of Troy</i> is above all a love story, and like the best love stories it deals in obsession, deception, madness and death
- Elizabeth Speller, Independent
A vivid reimagining of the discovery of what may have been the ancient city of Troy. A thought-provoking novel
- John Williams, Mail on Sunday
Beautifully constructed, by turns playful and sinister...this book will haunt the reader's mind
- Barry Unsworth, Sunday Telegraph
Ingenious..... briskly told and vividly realised tale... a gripping novel
- Peter Burton, Daily Express
Ackroyd's atmospheric novel begins with a flourish... [and] gradually turns into an almost Faustian tale
Irish Times
Gloomy, surprising and intelligent, Ackroyd's pose is sparse and considered and his characterisation is adroit. This is a compelling novel which never gives away more than it has to
- Philip Womack, The Tablet
Sophia Chrysanthis is initially dazzled when the celebrated German archaeologist, Herr Obermann, comes in search of a Greek bride who can read the works of Homer and assist in his excavations of the city he believes is Ancient Troy.
But Obermann's past turns out to be full of skeletons and when a young American arrives to question the archeologist's methods and dies of a mysterious fever, Sophia wonders just how far he will go to protect his vision of Troy. Soon a second, British archeologist arrives, only to fall in love with Sophia, and as their relationship begins to parallel their Ancient Greek counterparts events move towards a gripping and terrible conclusion.