“Written with her usual vigor and imagination...Mary Renault has a great talent.”– The New York Times Book Review

Alexander’s beauty, strength, and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king. His mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son’s loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle. His love for the youth Hephaistion taught him trust, while Aristotle’s tutoring provoked his mind and Homer’s Iliad fueled his aspirations. Killing his first man in battle at the age of twelve, he became regent at sixteen and commander of Macedon’s cavalry at eighteen, so that by the time his father was murdered, Alexander’s skills had grown to match his fiery ambition.

玛丽·瑞瑙特（Mary Renault，1905—1983），以描写古希腊的历史小说享有世界性的声誉，其作品传神地展现了忒修斯、苏格拉底、柏拉图和亚历山大大帝等名人的生平。

瑞瑙特出生于伦敦，毕业于牛津大学，大学时的老师包括著名希腊学教授吉尔伯特·默雷（Gilbert Murray），和后来以《魔戒》成为一代文豪的语言学教授托尔金（J. R. R.Tolkien）。大学之后，她在牛津的拉德克利夫医院（Radcliffe Infirmary）学习护理，并跟日后的终身伴侣朱莉·穆拉德相遇。二战期间两人曾专职照料伤兵。

瑞瑙特第一本小说发表于1939年。1948年以《归于夜晚》赢得高额文学奖金后，携朱莉移居南非。其后的写作生涯中，瑞瑙特先以同性爱情故事《御者》震撼文坛，继而转入一向令她痴迷的古希腊历史，共写出八部考据翔实、想象驰骋的大师之作，包括《残酒》《国王必须死去》《海里来的公牛》《阿波罗面具》《颂诗人》与“亚历山大三部曲”（《天堂之火》《波斯少年》《葬礼竞技会》），至今广受喜爱，长销不衰。