Hand of Fire, set within the Trojan War, is told from Briseis’s point of view—a woman who lived the pain and grief of that iconic conflict. The novel first came out in 2014 to positive reviews. Then, two years later, Hand of Fire went out of print for a time after I worked to regain my rights from the small press that first published it. During that period, I received emails from disappointed readers who wished it were available, so I’m pleased to have it back in print. The Trojan War has lasting appeal as a focus for historical fiction. I’m delighted with the new edition with its brighter, more engaging cover and beautiful layout. The text is unchanged, so if you read the first edition, you can hold off until the second book in this series comes out (unless you want to give it to someone who would appreciate this tale)—or read the first book in my Tesha series, Priestess of Ishana, which should be out in December 2018.
The timing for this new edition of Hand of Fire is propitious for two reasons.
First of all, Hand of Fire is a tale of women enduring sexual abuse in the context of war, as well as the loss of family and loved ones. It depicts women finding their inner confidence and strength to overcome trauma. Briseis and others find paths to renewal and hope within these realities. In the face of the current headlines, the #MeToo movement, and the anguish of survivors who have been so often ignored, my novel set in the Bronze Age world can be deeply meaningful. Oddly enough, when I began drafting this novel, I didn’t realize that it would focus so strongly on this theme of accessing inner power to heal and rebuild. But I’m glad the writing journey took me on that path. I wrote Hand of Fire with adult readers as my intended audience—and it works well there—but I’ve also found that this novel strikes a powerful cord with young women coming of age, and I think it’s this theme that draws them in. I’m glad to place Hand of Fire back into the currents of public and private struggle with these overwhelming issues.
As to the second reason a new edition is well-timed, there’s been something of a renaissance of Trojan War books over the years since I first published Hand of Fire. I want my interpretation of this tradition to stand among these other good books. Within this surprising resurgence, these titles come most quickly to mind: Madeline Miller’s Song of Achilles, a multi-author anthology called A Song of War, Emily Hauser’s For the Most Beautiful and Pat Barker’s The Silence of the Girls. Reading them with their varied themes and character depictions, feels to me like looking through a prism—a rainbow of Homeric tradition brought to our modern minds. They range from jarringly, but intriguingly modern-feeling (Barker’s) to mythic (Miller’s) to inventive and diversity-embracing (Song of War) to passionate and tenacious (Hauser’s).
I enjoy seeing what other writers do with Briseis or Agamemnon or Achilles. Achilles is where writers most often differ from me. I tend to understand him in a more admirable light than most of the current books grant him. He’s always seemed to me the existential hero, the one who in the face of a certain, near-coming death questions the value of war even as he continues to be the preeminent warrior. He is tragically trapped, unable to live a happy life, but he doesn’t stop trying to find the moral best choice. I’ve had several readers say I changed their view of Achilles, and that pleases me. But Briseis holds my writerly heart the closest. Writers are usually a bit crazy since we must allow our imaginations to be taken over by fictional characters. I spent months listening to my Briseis strive for happiness. You’ll have to read Hand of Fireto judge if she found it.
Judith Starkston, November 5, 2018
