It is no surprise the quote from the Iliad of Hector speaking to Andromache “The war shall be the men’s concern” is in the opening sentence of the introduction as it cuts to the heart of why this book, long overdue, was written. Poems initially performed by men, probably to men, about the exploits of men in battle or finding their way home one would probably expect no less. What is surprising in modern day where equality is the watchword, where the gender imbalance in the forces is being addressed how entrenched this thought is and how stereotypes endure.  Further than this though, with the focus being on deployment, fighting and the theatre of war what has been and is still ignored is the warriors’ wife.

This book redresses this imbalance. Modern day poems, articles, letters and blogs written by servicemen’s wives about their thoughts and experiences, something familiar to the author as a military spouse, are used as a lens to look at how mythical figures including Clytemnestra, Penelope, Andromache and Tecmessa are portrayed. This is not to impose modern day experiences as evidence of the ancient lived experience, we are frequently reminded through the book that ancient Greece was a very different culture, but to consider parallels and the social, psychological and emotional impact of not just war but being married to the military. What is interesting, although startling, is that although we might expect how military wives in Homer, Aeschylus, Sophocles and Euripides might be isolated, sidelined and silenced, after all they were misogynistic times, the extent this is still the case in modern day.

To tackle this the book each chapter deals with an aspect of deployment: Farewell, Sacrifice, Separation, Infidelity, Reunion and Aftermath. The wide-ranging modern experiences are compared to the Homeric epics and the extant plays of the three tragedians.

I particularly enjoyed the close reading of the literary sources, interpretation of the language, analysis and explanations with footnotes on virtually every page. Apart from the compelling nature of arguments and conclusions they open a world of secondary sources and opinion. The writing style is clear and easy to follow although it is not a fast read as the depth of detail commands respect and thought. Whilst I thought I understood the terms and concepts of the chapter titles it soon became very apparent that my understanding was superficial. I was introduced to new thematic phrases which ran through the book: ‘greedy institution’ and ‘model army wife’.  So, although it highlighted my own shortcomings what the book did was, by using the comparisons and evidence it did, drew me in to recollect other instances that supported the conclusions – which are many and prevalent.

It was a book that could have been written for me as it has several of my interests running through it: tragedy, psychology, trauma, women’s history and emotion and it opens ideas for further enquiry. I would thoroughly recommend to anyone who has any of these interests. But I would also say it would be a valuable addition for those who appreciate close reading, language, interpretation and analysis and ideas on modern comparison techniques to identify parallels to offer a different slant on ancient times.