Eve Meets Dante
Greta Sykes, Vanguard Press, £12.99

EVE MEETS DANTE by Greta Sykes is a remarkable new novel that puts women centre stage and introduces us to some exceptional women from history.

This is Greta’s third novel in what is intended to be a tetralogy and introduces the reader to the lives of several women from ancient and medieval history, mostly from the Middle East. The novel combines longstanding interests in ancient civilisations, the history of women and writing poetry, embodied in Italy’s national poet, Dante, who acts a guide for narrator Eva.

The novel starts with a description of the agony of childbirth, during a war-ravaged world; it was October 1944: “My mother named me Eva. I was a new beginning, a new hope for her that war could end soon.”

In succeeding chapters various women appear, beginning with Dante’s Beatrice. The poet tells Eva: “You thought we were far away in geography and time, but we are as near as your hand.”  

This is clearly no simple realist novel but a work that combines lyrical dream-like episodes and autobiographical elements. The imaginary meetings with heroines from history, the Bible and myth are intermingled with vivid descriptions of the brutal real experiences of life in a ravaged country that is slowly picking itself up after war. The book captures the hopes and struggles of one young woman and describes the inspiration that she obtains from the eminent and courageous women met as she makes the journey from child to adulthood.

The various women include Hippolyta, Queen of the Amazons, Mary Magdalene, follower of Christ, Dido, Queen of Carthage, the Syrian Empress Zenobia, the Christian martyr Blandina, the scientist, Hypatia, the Christian martyr, Perpetua, the Queen of Sheba, poet Sappho, Byzantine empress Theodora, Saint Etheldreda, medieval nun Roswitha of Saxony, Benedictine abbess Hildegard von Bingen, the Ottoman ruler Roxelana, Roman queen Tanaquil, and Renaissance painter Artemisia Gentileschi.  

This is an eclectic group, and readers can be forgiven for not being aware of many of them; many are not exactly household names. It is a real achievement of this novel that these female figures are brought back to life and made to speak again directly to modern readers. As told by the author, the women have much to say to us as they share their insights with Eva in her voyage of discovery.

Greta interweaves the fictionalised stories of these individuals with vivid details of personal memories from her own childhood and teenage years to create a unique work of fiction that seeks to inspire by offering reflections on the true meaning of life and human liberation.

Greta herself lived through the ending of the second world war and the economic recovery of a post-war Germany divided by Cold War. Her own experiences inform the themes and help shape the novel’s emotional texture. Her first novel, Under Charred Skies, was influenced by her family history, in particular that of her own mother. The second, The Defeat of Gilgamesh, explores some of the ancient stories that feature in this latest work.

Eva’s search represents the possibility of hope, happiness and love and the realisation of our common dreams. Eve Meets Dante amounts to a bold vision of hope in these dark times. It is a refreshingly inspiring read and along the way of reading the book we meet some tremendous women.