“In Helena, the play of words and the fireworks, the exquisite descriptions of landscapes, and even the finished portraits of the heroine, her husband, and her son, are always subordinate to the author’s broad vision of the mixed anguish and hope with which the world of Constantine’s time was filled.”—New York Herald Tribune“[Helena] may be read on two levels of appreciation: As bright entertainment, or as deceptively profound commentary. On both levels it’s a superlatively well done book.”—Chicago TribuneEvelyn Waugh, author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Brideshead Revisited and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, considered Helena to be perhaps his finest novel. Based on the life of St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine and finder of the true cross, this spiritual adventure brings to life the political intrigues of ancient Rome and the early years of Christianity.
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Helena (Loyola Classics)
By Evelyn Waugh
“In Helena, the play of words and the fireworks, the exquisite descriptions of landscapes, and even the finished portraits of the heroine, her husband, and her son, are always subordinate to the author’s broad vision of the mixed anguish and hope with which the world of Constantine’s time was filled.”—New York Herald Tribune“[Helena] may be read on two levels of appreciation: As bright entertainment, or as deceptively profound commentary. On both levels it’s a superlatively well done book.”—Chicago TribuneEvelyn Waugh, author of the internationally acclaimed bestseller Brideshead Revisited and one of the greatest writers of the twentieth century, considered Helena to be perhaps his finest novel. Based on the life of St. Helena, mother of the Emperor Constantine and finder of the true cross, this spiritual adventure brings to life the political intrigues of ancient Rome and the early years of Christianity.
Popular Reviews(1)
Reviewed by LarisaI expected a lot from this book, since it was the first historic novel that I have read in a long time and it was praised to have been written by one of the most important British novelists of the 20th century. From an early age I have always loved history and mythology and this novel „Helena“ seemed to be the perfect mixture of both - it wasn‘t. Sure, it was interesting to read about Helena and the rise of her famous son, to read about how Christianity grew to be one of the biggest religions in the world. But I found it very dry…Normally, you can feel if the author was knee-deep into the subject, but I could not feel a single spark of passion or love for the subject pass over to me while reading it. And that is supposed to be the mission of every author. I read that some found this novel to be quite humorous…I didn‘t. Or maybe I just don‘t get the British sense of humour, I don‘t know. The thing Helena was most famous for was her discovery of the Holy Cross. I really expected an interesting story about how she looks for it, overcomes struggles and threats and returns victorious, with us readers celebrating this important and blessed discovery. But I felt…nothing. Helena was not a well-written likeable character, we had time-jumps of sometimes 20 years and her mission to discover the Holy Cross only appears in the last maybe 30 pages and is quite unspectacular. Waugh tries to paint himself as an important historian by throwing a lot of names of Roman politicians in the face of the reader, but before you can really dive into the story and the political problems…there is another time jump and you are thrown into a completely different place and time. Urgh. A huge disappointment. Really.