I have reviewed Glorious Exploits by Ferdia Lennon for book recommendation and selling site LoveReading.co.uk. I’ve chosen Glorious Exploits as a Liz Robinson pick of the month. See link for full review.

Glorious Exploits is sensational! What an amazing read; bursting with life and action and I couldn’t put it down. Difficult to believe this is a debut. The writing is assured and the characters are superb. I know very little about Ancient Greece but this story has a real feel for the time and place. I could sense the brutality of the stone working and the plight of the prisoners. The dust and heat were, at times, almost tangible,

Ferdina Lennon has woven a very entertaining story into this setting, bringing together opposing factions in an outrageous plan to stage two plays by Euripides. It’s a story for our times; one where hope and expectation is a way to lift life from the dismal reality. It’s a difficult book to describe. It’s laugh out loud funny as the personality of the two central characters is captured to perfection. Their interactions just flow. There’s also a darker side which gives balance and the plotting and pace as the outrageous scheme takes shape is spot on. A very different read and one which should have wide appeal and a book that’s going to be talked about. Loved it.

What an unusual book. A wonderful, idiosyncratic take on the Ancient Greek world of Euripides, Aristophanes, and the city state of Athen's hubris in its war with Syracuse, the principal city of Sicily.

Our two heroes aren't the usual aristocratic, wealthy, well-educated types. No, they're two unemployed, Syracusan potters with scarcely an obol to their name. And yet, they.ve a yearning to put on a play by Euripides no less.

It's difficult to over-estimate the hold theatre had over the Hellenic world at this period. Plays formed the bedrock of what we'd recognise as culture. Theatre then as now has the power to move people, transport them, give them hope. And sometimes, that power also enrages.

What starts off as a comedy of some kind quickly acquires layers, serious, thought-provoking layers with many parallels to our current world. I started off not quite sure where this book was taking me. I finished it taking larger and larger bites, eager to experience everything Ferdia Lennon was throwing at me.

A novel well worthy of our times, Glorious Exploits blinded me with its brilliance. Transported back to 412BC Syracuse where Athenian would-be-invaders, now prisoners of war, are kept in a quarry to die slowly of starvation. Enter Lampo and Gelon, potters by trade (out of work at the mo), and full of love for poetry written by Euripides. What, they wonder, would it mean if Athens was destroyed bringing an end to Euripides and his plays? Keen to keep the poetry of their enemy alive, they decide to put on a play of Medea and Trojan Women starring Athenian prisoners who are willing to trade their knowledge of these plays for food and wine.

On the face of things this is equal parts hilarity and cruelty, kindness and greed, genius and foolhardy. I laughed out loud, I shed a few tears. I was touched by the humanity of this Greek tragedy. I loved the casual Irish dialogue which worked surprisingly well in this context. A truly inspired novel that speaks to the heart of what it means to be human, I look forward to many more novels by this ingeniously talented writer.

Beautiful, funny and poignant. A wonderful blend of Irish witticism and Ancient Greek grandiosity, with a cast of wonderfully fleshed out characters.

5th century BC Syracuse recently fought off an attack by the Athenians and hundreds of Athenian prisoners are kept in a disused quarry. where they are slowly starving to death. Two unemployed potters, friends and drinking companions amuse themselves occasionally by taking scraps of food to the quarry to throw to the men. They take it into their heads, discovering that some of the poisoners are familiar with Euripides, to put on a production of Medea, acted by them. How to feed the actors enough so they don't die? How to fund masks and costumes? Its ancient and modern, captivating and funny, beautifully written - Brilliant!

The idea of loving Athenian poetry while resenting the invasion adds a layer of complexity to the narrative. The courage and determination of the characters in the face of adversity are inspiring. The story beautifully explores the blurred lines between enemies and friends, making you question loyalties. While "Glorious Exploits" offers a unique perspective on ancient history, it's the human resilience and artistic pursuit that make it a must-read. The anticipation of their performance and the challenges they face keep you engaged from start to finish.

This is a strange book. It's sort of like Flann O'Brien meets Euripides and I'm still not sure if I liked it or not. Set in 412BC, the Athenians have just been handed their behinds by the people of Syracuse (modern Sicily) and the prisoners of war are all being kept in a quarry where they are slowly starving to death. Two, out of work potters, Lampo and Gelon, visit the quarry out of curiosity when they are taken with the idea of putting on two of Euripides plays, Medea and The Trojan Woman. It is a hare brained idea that takes the pair on a merry and sometimes not so merry dance. I found myself impatient with it for the first quarter of the book and then I was hooked. I had to know how it ended. I can't say I warmed to the characters and the whole conceit was weird, but it was compelling.

I was really grateful to be asked to review this ARC and I can totally see a version of this book that would be amazing, unfortunately I just didn't think this one stuck the landing.

‘𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘦𝘵𝘳𝘺 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘪𝘯𝘨,’ 𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘴𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘴. ‘𝘐𝘵 𝘸𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥𝘯’𝘵 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯 𝘢 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘧 𝘪𝘵 𝘸𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘺.’

Glorious Exploits tells the story of Lampo and Gelon, Sicilian potters who are out of work shortly after Athens' attempted invasion of Sicily. The surviving invading Athenian soldiers are held captive in the quarries of Syracuse, being kept alive but slowly starving, and Lampo and Gelon have taken to visiting them, demanding lines of poetry in exchange for bread. Gelon is obsessed with Athenian tragedy and having so many Athenians at his disposal... well he gets an idea. Gelon convinces Lampo to stage Euripides' Medea and The Trojan Women in the quarries using the starving soldiers as actors, but can this plan really mean anything good for anyone involved?

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘦𝘹𝘵𝘳𝘢 𝘣𝘪𝘵 𝘰𝘧 𝘧𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘦’𝘳𝘦 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘩𝘢𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘦𝘧𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵. 𝘈 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘤𝘰𝘶𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘈𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘴 𝘣𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘦𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘣𝘢𝘤𝘬𝘴. 𝘈𝘴 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘤𝘢𝘴𝘵 𝘧𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘰𝘶𝘵, 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘱𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦

The tone of the book is clearly striving for sardonic wit, trying to utilise the same kind of satirical sensibility as Catch-22 but in this book it can come across as really basic and bland (such as lines like "𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘢𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘵𝘰 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘭𝘭 𝘨𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩. 𝘎𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘱𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘶𝘱, 𝘢𝘴𝘬 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘶𝘵 𝘶𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘧𝘪𝘴𝘩.") or otherwise really mean spirited and cruel. I do believe that the balance the author is trying to make between gruesome gallows humour and morally nuanced commentary is possible but I don't think he quite managed it, partly because of how unbearable his main character, Lampo, is. So much of the book is also slowed down by Lampo's love subplot with a slave woman which honestly added nothing to the story at all.

I can see a great novel in here, but it just isn't quite there yet. I think trying so hard to make the book funny, which largely failed, was a mistake as it actually undermines the parts that are really powerful and touching. Gelon's character, in particular, is brilliant. The way his portrayal hints at the overwhelming grief he keeps hidden, which provides context for some of his more stubborn and callous actions was really well thought out. But Lampo was such a boring Everyman, that instead of being a foil to Gelon or an interesting contrast, you just wish he would shut up and go talk to Gelon instead.

𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘩𝘪𝘱 𝘣𝘦𝘵𝘸𝘦𝘦𝘯 𝘢𝘯 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘢 𝘥𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘴𝘵. 𝘉𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧. 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘴𝘦 𝘈𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘯𝘪𝘢𝘯𝘴 𝘣𝘦𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘦 – 𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱𝘰𝘯 𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘧 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘴𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘯𝘴 – 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦𝘭𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘴𝘦𝘦𝘮𝘴 𝘢𝘯 𝘶𝘯𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦𝘭𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨, 𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘺 𝘪𝘮𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘤𝘦𝘪𝘷𝘦. 𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘵’𝘴 𝘸𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘎𝘦𝘭𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘴.

412BC in Syracuse. Athenians are being held prisoner in an old quarry, exposed to blazing sun during the day and plagued by rats at night. The Syracusans despise them, but two Syracusans decide to get them to put on a performance of Medea.

A rich trader arrives in Syracuse. His origins and motives are unclear, but he agrees to finance the performance. With his backing, they can afford to feed the Athenian performers, keeping them from death in the harsh conditions in the quarry.

The scheme is not popular with others in Syracuse - will the performance go ahead, and what will happen to the actors and the backers...

A good read.

Despite the occasional dark bits (but you expect that from this era) I found this a fun and lighthearted read. But there was more to it than that, as it deals with emotional fallout, friendship and values that aren't what they seem. I was disappointed by the ending though.

A great look at period of history that is dark, interesting and insightful told in a comical tone in surprisingly Irish dialect, works really well doesn’t seem out of place at all.
A book of friendship and making the right choices…a tale as old of time.
Not your usual historical read and it’s all the better for that

I loved this book! Glorious Exploits explores the fallout of the Sicilian Expedition during the Peloponnesian War between Athens and Sparta. The protagonists are two normal men from Syracuse whom, on a whim, decide to use the Athenian prisoners to put on a play by Euripides. I read a lot of fiction about ancient Greece but rarely military fiction - as I read for research I usually read Greek myth retellings, but Glorious Exploits does very well what a lot of myth retellings lack. In particular, slavery is dealt with very thoughtfully, and at the forefront of the novel is always the humanity of the imprisoned soldiers from the losing side. Despite its serious topic, the novel is very funny and wonderfully written. A fantastic novel that I will definitely read again.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing an ARC in exchange for an honest review.

This was an interesting story of a very different kind to the usual stories about this part of the Meditteranean.. Some great descriptions that brought the story to life. A very clever conclusion

I was invited to read this and i have enjoyed reading other book set in this era.
I am disappointed. The first chapters have the main characters visiting a “prisoner of war camp” where captured Athenians are kept in appalling conditions. This is apparently a regular occurrence for entertainment and involves gratuitous violence.
I kept to my rule of reading at least 20% of book I am doubtful about but as this continues the language and the action is rude and unpleasant and i have decided not to continue. It is not for me.

This book is absolutely genius, i loved it so much and it will definitely be one of my favourites of 2023. It's funny, heartwarming and brutal all wrapped up in one very interesting and well paced story. It's based upon some fact which really opened up my eyes to this part of history. It;s a tale of friendship, love, grief and loss, and how arts can bring people together to show us what really matters in life. My review really doesn't do this book justice, I can't get into words how much I enjoyed it and would encourage anyone to give it a read!

I was eager to read this book having read a novel many years ago with a similar focus on the aftermath of the disastrous Athenian expedition to Syracuse and the way in which some of the young Athenians escaped death by reciting the plays of Euripides, loved by some Syracusans.

Initially I was disappointed, the jokey style, the Irish dialect and rather modern characters weren't what I expected and it took me over half the novel before I began to enjoy it for what it was rather than what I had anticipated. It deals with the power of art and storytelling, the horrible aftermath of wars well and the characters do take life and feel real. The final scenes are poignant.

Many thanks to the publisher and netgalley for a review copy.

Glorious Exploits is set in 412 BC where an invasion of Sicily by Athenian soldiers has failed, and any invaders who haven’t been killed have been dumped to die of heat and starvation in the Syracuse quarries.
Two local potters, Gelon who is grieving the loss of his son and wife, and Lampo
an immature young man who still lives at home, have no work and too much time on their hands. They decide to visit the quarries and after hearing some of the Athenians quote Euripides in exchange for crumbs of food decide to put on a production of Medea in the quarry.
Some historical novels can be a little dry but Lampo’s (the narrator) voice has an Irish dialect that surprisingly doesn’t seem at all out of place.
As their seemingly impossible dream begins to take shape events force Lampo to find his courage and take risks he would never have previously considered.
This tale of friendship (particularly the bond between Gelon and Lampo), determination, class, culture and most of all the healing power of art make this an exciting, occasionally amusing, original story that will stay with me. Absolutely loved it!

Many thanks to Penguin Random House UK for an ARC

This is, without a doubt, the single most important piece of #ancienthistory fiction published in the past decade (if not longer).

I have struggled for some time to write this review, as I have struggled to summarise just how much, and in how many ways, I love this book. And how I think it is so necessary, and so vital, particularly to our understanding of the ancient world.

The failed Sicilian Expedition of c.413BC was devastating for Athens and, due to the biased nature of our sources, we hear very little of the Syracusan side of the war. We do know that captured Athenians were held prisoner in Syracusan quarries, and were forced to recite snippets of plays (which were always performed in Athens). Ferdia Lennon has seized this remarkable anecdote, and created something truly astounding out of it. The voices of Lampo and Gelon are real. Their home, their lives, their feelings, are real. I want to pour over this book and read it again and again and again, because I haven’t come across anything quite like this in all the ancient historical fiction I have read. Lemon’s writing is empathetic and hilarious and absolutely devastating. Simply magnificent.


Thank you so, so much to NetGalley and Penguin FigTree for this genuine privilege. I am an Editor in Classics at a major academic publishing house, and I’ll be recommending this to everyone I possibly can.

What a fantastic novel. Original, erudite, sad, funny, violent, touching and totally engrossing. I absolutely loved it.

This is a cut above the recent slew of women's gaze mythology/history (and I really enjoy them).

The writing is excellent. The characterisation is superb and the ending, as is life is definitely messy.

Read it.

Thank you NetGalley and Penguin - and well spotted Penguin if this really is a debut novel.