Ready Reference Treatise: The King Must Die

By Raja Sharma

“The King Must Die” by Mary Renault was first published in 1958. It is a bildungsroman and historical novel. The story explores the early life and adventures of a Greek mythological hero named Theseus.

The story is set in several ancient Greek cities such as Athens, Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, etc. It is not a merely retelling of the myth.

The author has created a plausible story based on archaeological and anthropological premises. The author believes that it may have developed into the myth.

Ready Reference Treatise: The King Must Die
Copyright
Chapter One: Introduction
Chapter Two: Plot Overview
Chapter Three: Characters
Chapter Four: Complete Summary
Book One
Book Two
Book Three
Book Four
Book Five
Chapter Five: Critical Analysis

• Language: English
• Publisher: Raja Sharma
• Release date: May 17, 2015
• ISBN: 9781311306289

Raja Sharma

Raja Sharma is a retired college lecturer.He has taught English Literature to University students for more than two decades.His students are scattered all over the world, and it is noticeable that he is in contact with more than ninety thousand of his students.

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Ready Reference Treatise: The King Must Die

Copyright

Ready Reference Treatise: The King Must Die

Raja Sharma

Copyright@2015 Raja Sharma

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Chapter One: Introduction

The King Must Die by Mary Renault was first published in 1958. It is a bildungsroman and historical novel. The story explores the early life and adventures of a Greek mythological hero named Theseus.

The story is set in several ancient Greek cities such as Athens, Troizen, Corinth, Eleusis, etc. It is not a merely retelling of the myth.

The author has created a plausible story based on archaeological and anthropological premises. The author believes that it may have developed into the myth.

The more fantastical elements of the myth have been removed by the author and only the essentials have been retained to make the story more plausible.

The fantastical elements such as appearances of gods and monsters are not there in this novel, however, humans get signs from the gods and they respectfully worship them. The gods do not physically appear in the novel.

Most of the critics of the time highly admitted The King Must Die. According to Orville Prescott, writing for the New York Times Reviews said that The King Must Die is one of the truly fine historical novels of modern times.

After the success of this novel, Renault wrote a sequel in 1962. It was titled The Bull from the Sea. It was also very much successful.

The King Must Die has very successfully adapted the early life and adventures of the great Greek hero Theseus from Greek mythology. The novel begins with his childhood in the Greek city state of Troizen.

The story moves along his several travels in Eleusis, where he becomes king. He reaches Athens, where he is recognized as the son and the heir to the King.

He eventually travels to Crete, where he learns about the bull-leaping sport. Eventually, our hero goes back to Athens at the end of the novel.

Chapter Two: Plot Overview

The King Must Die revolves around the life and adventures of Theseus, the hero and protagonist of the novel. The story begins in the state called Troizen. It happens to be the land of King Pittheus, the grandfather of Theseus.

Theseus has a belief that he is the son of Poseidon, the sea-god. At a very early age, he finds out that he has the capacity to sense earthquakes. It is obviously a unique skill. He interprets his extraordinary skill