The Persian Boy

“It takes skill to depict, as Miss Renault has done, this half-man, half Courtesan who is so deeply in love with the warrior.”

- The Atlantic Monthly

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander’s life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas.

Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the Mac...

“It takes skill to depict, as Miss Renault has done, this half-man, half Courtesan who is so deeply in love with the warrior.”

- The Atlantic Monthly

The Persian Boy traces the last years of Alexander’s life through the eyes of his lover, Bagoas.

Abducted and gelded as a boy, Bagoas was sold as a courtesan to King Darius of Persia, but found freedom with Alexander after the Macedon army conquered his homeland. Their relationship sustains Alexander as he weathers assassination plots, the demands of two foreign wives, a sometimes-mutinous army, and his own ferocious temper.

After Alexander’s mysterious death, we are left wondering if this Persian boy understood the great warrior and his ambitions better than anyone.

玛丽•瑞瑙特（Mary Renault），英国现当代名作家。1905年生于伦敦，父亲是医师。从牛津大学毕业后，想当作家的瑞瑙特决心拓宽自己的人生经验，进入护士学校培训三年，写出首部小说《爱的意义》。第二次世界大战期间，她从事伤兵护理工作，业余继续写小说，其中《归于夜晚》 一书荣获15万美元的米高梅奖金。战后她移居南非，但多次到非洲、欧洲各国游历，踏足希腊本土及爱琴海诸岛等古代文明发祥地。从1950年代中叶到1983年病逝前，瑞瑙特出版了八部以古希腊为背景的长篇历史小说，誉满欧美，是公认的历史小说大师。

瑞瑙特最著名的作品包括亚历山大三部曲、《御者》、《残酒》和《国王必须死去》。《波斯少年》是亚历山大三部曲的第二部。