Lavinia by Ursula Le Guin

The Romans, as is well known, claimed descent from Aeneas who lead the last of the Trojans from the destruction of their city. The story was immortalised in the epic poem The Aeneid by Virgil. Based on this poem Le Guin uses her imagination and considerable narrative skill to bring to life the story of Aeneas sailing up the Tiber and winning the hand of Lavinia Princess of Latium and founding the city that would rule the known world. On the front cover there is a quote from Publishers Weekly that this book "deserves to be ranked with Robert Graves I, Claudius", sorry no it doesn't. It is a very readable book but not in Graves' class and such hyperbole does Miss Le Guin no favours.