The multiple facets of Renault's art, familiar to a host of admirers, are once again apparent [in The Persian Boy], a particularly sensitive depiction of boyhood and youth; an astounding grasp of the facts and the spirit of the ancient world; an unerring sense of the dramatic which, along with her superb descriptive powers, brings to life a great historical period. There is plenty of joy and terror in this book, tempered by a gloriously romantic idealism which is uplifting because it reflects a profo...