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The Last of the Wine

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The Last of the Wine

By: Mary Renault
Narrated by: Barnaby Edwards
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About this listen

Alexias, a young Athenian of good family, grows up just as the Peloponnesian War is drawing to a close. The adult world he enters is one in which the power and influence of his class have been undermined by the forces of war, and more and more Alexias finds himself drawn to the controversial teachings of Sokrates.

Among the great thinker's followers, Alexias meets Lysis, and the two youths become inseparable, wrestling together in the palaestra, journeying to the Olympic Games, and fighting in the wars against Sparta. On the great historical canvas of famine, siege, and civil conflict, their relationship captures vividly the intricacies of classical Greek culture.

©1956 Mary Renault (P)2015 Audible, Ltd Fiction Historical Fiction Ancient Greece Ancient History War Sports
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what is there not to love? wonderfully crafted with a careful balance given to the characters and the background historical events. I was able to follow the story as it unfolded, whilst caring for the characters as they grew.

an incredible tale that stretches across time

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I kept waiting for awful things to happen, but when they did, they were palatable. I don't choose to read stories about wars, especially when they're true, but I do love philosophy, especially Socrates and Plato. I understand Mary Renault is actually a man. Fantastic writer, well researched, and the philosophy well understood. So many lines were full of nobility and wisdom. A really good read, and well read too.

So glad I read it

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outstanding1 outstanding2 outstanding3 outstanding4 outstanding5 outstanding6 outstanding7 outstanding outstanding outstanding outstanding outstanding outstanding outstanding outstanding

best author

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Mary Renault's ability to allow her readers to enter into the reality of historical events through the lives of ordinary people is unsurpassed, and a master in telling a story. The Last of the Wine is a masterpiece, and long acknowledged as such. My hesitation with this audiobook is that its narrator, although at times very good, too often misses the tone of the characters to whom he gives a voice. Not only does the variety of tones (which is, in theory, an excellent approach) sometimes ring falsely, – at least to my ear – but the tone often used for the narrator, Alexias, too often does not convince, particularly when engaged in dialogue. However, the stature of the book itself is sufficient to allow us to tolerate flaws in the performance.

The flaw in the glass

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A trip into ancient Rome where you feel like you are there … awesome story telling.

They don’t write them like this anymore!

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