Ransacking Troy - by Erin Shields (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

After nearly a decade of the Trojan War, the women of Greece are growing restless. Led by the indomitable Penelope and the fierce Clytemnestra, a band of Grecian women defy the odds and bravely set sail for the shores of Troy, determined to end the conflict themselves. The journey is fraught with danger--bloodthirsty warriors, mythical beasts, and the capricious will of the gods. But these women are no mere bystanders in the tales of men. Get ready to embark on the greatest adventure that Homer and Virgil never told.

A radical retelling of the ancient Greco-Roman epics, Ransacking Troy is a bold and brilliant reimagining of the most famous war story of all time, where women take centre stage as the rightful heroes. In her signature revisionist style, award-winning playwright Erin Shields brings a refreshing feminist twist to this thrilling odyssey, confronting the habitual violence and disregard for women's lives that persist during times of war. A mythical tale for modern times, Ransacking Troy envisions what happens when women band together to build a better world.

Review Quotes

"Another canonical classic successfully ransacked for gold by Shields."

--The Globe and Mail

"The text is a godsend for university and college drama departments looking for large-scale, ideas-driven, female-centric plays."

--Intermission Magazine

About the Author

Erin Shields is a Canadian playwright best known for radical adaptations of classical texts that bring neglected female characters centre stage. Her additional text for Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing at the Stratford Festival gives a voice to silenced Hero at the climax of the play. Queen Goneril, which premiered at Soulpepper Theatre in rep with King Lear, centres Lear's stifled daughters as they contend for power in a world that insists they remain powerless. Erin's illuminating and hilarious adaptation of Paradise Lost (Stratford Festival) won the Quebec Writers' Federation Prize for Playwriting. And her harrowing tragedy about sexual violence, If We Were Birds, won the Governor General's Literary Award for Drama.