Alexander in fiction (Aubrey Menen)

[Jeanne]

Since we've mentioned a couple of ATG books of late, including the Pressfield book, and they don't look promising, I thought I'd make a suggestion of a GOOD book on Alexander that's not very well known. :-)The book is Aubrey Menen's A CONSPIRACY OF WOMEN, published by Random House in 1965. It comes to mind because I was just talking about it today, but while a number of folks know of Renault, and may also have read more recent (better) ATG books, Menen usually unfamiliar. Below is a brief summary/review of it from the paper I just did, and I've also discussed it on "Beyond Renault," but that's longer.
[Mene]... used Alexander's campaign to allegorize the present, or more specifically, the recent past, employing the Macedonians' trek through Persia and India as an opportunity to poke fun at the British occupation of India in the 1800s -- all done with Menen's elegant dry wit and keen eye for irony.Indo-Irishman Aubrey Menen was a well-known essayist, drama critic, stage director, radio reporter, television and film staff director, ad agency director, and free-lance writer -- a man of many and varied hats, whose literary talents were uncovered by no less a figure than H. G. Wells. Menen was born in 1912 to an Irish mother and Indian father, and raised Roman Catholic in London, where he graduated from University College. Thus, he grew up three kinds of minority in the heart of the British Commonwealth, and it gave him the biracial child's causticity.He said, "As a satirist, my desire it to amuse, rather than reform. Many of the world's tragedies have stemmed from people who have thought that human nature could be improved ... The message of at least one kind of satirist is that human nature is corrupt, but that this is not necessarily either a disastrous or a melancholy thing."It certainly isn't in this novel. ...This romp makes no attempt to take itself seriously, even while showcasing just how well Menen understood human foibles, especially those of imperialist nations versus Traditional societies. Menen's novel succeeds ... by, first, making sure that the historical situation he chose to write about actually worked for the purpose to which he put it, and second, by making any changes to history suit his theme and plot purpose. That is, they aren't random alterations, or the result of errors from lazy research.In its time-line, Menen's novel is all turned around. Alexander returns directly from Baktria to Susa -- where he h

[Jeanne]

Eeep! It cut off. Sorry, didn't realize there was a length-limit. Here's the rest:In its time-line, Menen's novel is all turned around. Alexander returns directly from Baktria to Susa -- where he holds his mass weddings. Then from Susa, he heads back east to India, where the infamous mutiny is staged by the 'Daughters of Macedon,' a group of camp followers dedicated to 'ethnic purity,' and opposed to interracial marriage. From there, he goes back again into central Persia, but the novel ends before his death. In history, of course, Alexander went directly south from Baktria into India, and didn't return to the west until forced to do so. Yet Menen's satiric comedy is all about how various groups of people can converse endlessly without ever quite understanding each other, be they women and men, or Macedonians, Persians and Indians. Therefore, he had to scramble historical events in order to place the weddings sooner -- which then led to the plot crisis between Persians and Macedonians (and Indians). The result is a delightfully wicked parallel between the arrogant and ethnocentric Macedonians and the Nineteenth-Century imperialistic Brits, both set against the far older Indian culture. Yet Menen didn't spare the self-righteousness of Indian brahmins and rajas, either. (Menen spares no one.)Thus, his shift of history didn't bother me because it was deliberate, and served his narrative purpose -- which isn't about Alexander at all. The only detail error in the book that actually annoyed me was making Thebes the capitol of Macedon. That seemed a plain mistake, not deliberate change, and I'm unsure how he could have overlooked something so obvious when he got other, less obvious details correct. Otherwise, I see Menen's A CONSPIRACY OF WOMEN as historical allegory at its absolute finest.
--Cheers!
Dr. Jeanne Reames-Zimmerman;
287-K ASH, Dept. of History;
University of Nebraska at Omaha;
Omaha, NE 68182; 402/554-2489

[susan]

It's about the only funny Alexander book that I've read - the others don't seem too hot on intentional humour, do they? Also, it's nice to see a different, more sympathetic portrayal of Roxane to the usual scheming one. She was only a young girl, after all. Susan

[marcus]

On the subject of funny books about Alexander, has anyone else read "Alexander at the World's End" by Tom Holt?Holt is best known for his comic fantasy novels, but he has written three/four historicals, too (about the origin of the Olympic Games, the Peloponnesian War, the Alexander one and I believe he's just published a new one about Nero).While "Alexander..." only actually features Alexander in the background for the most part, I thought it was hilarious. It's fairly anti-Alex in the approach, but with fondness (if that makes sense).All the bestMarcusPS: I shall have to try and find the Menon book. Sounds good

[gb]

An Irishman sending up the Brithish Empire by ways of Alexander the Great. Sounds brilliant!Thanks for the tip, I'll look out for it.

[ruthaki]

I was just going to suggest "Alexander at the End of the World" by Tom Holt and I agree with Marcus. It's one of the funniest books I've read and I have been intending to read Holt's others. He writes satire and humour, but he's done his homework too, and though he scews facts he does it well. If you haven't read it, I recommend it, though I'm not sure if it's available in U.S. (I bought my copy in London when it was recommended by a lady I met on a ferry in Greece). ruthaki

[Jeanne]

Oh, I loved Holt's book. Definite thumbs up. At some point, I need to complete a review for my website. I've had the old review linked on the site, but now that I've read it, I can write my own. :-)Jeanne

[Jeanne]

Given how many *bad* books have been written about Alexander and/or his time, it's always really *nice* to be able to recommend a good one. :-)I wonder to what degree, too, humor makes it easier to write about Alexander? Among the ATG fiction I've recommended, both the satires got on my "short list."A lot of the books just take themselves too seriously. Both Menen and Holt share the ability to find the humor in the whole thing. And Holt, like Menen, tends to *use* the changes he's made for a particular reason.Jeanne

[jan]

Thanks, Ms. Zimmerman, for posting your vital information. I see that we are matched, and so now I understand why.Jan