Review: 'The Wandering Queen: A Novel of Dido' by Claire Heywood
Dido, the famous queen of Carthage, died of a broken heart. I was never very fond of that part of the Aeneid , it felt like a cop out and Aeneas was not worth it. So when I saw Claire Heywood's The Wandering Queen promising to retell Dido's story, I was very intrigued. Thanks to Dutton and NetGalley for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. Pub. Date : 10/02/2026 Publisher : Dutton When the King of Tyre dies, he decrees that the rule of the kingdom will pass equally to both his children: Elissa, his clever and strong-willed daughter, and Pygmalion, her young half-brother. But Elissa, not yet skilled in the machinations of court, quickly finds herself sidelined by a band of powerful merchants in favor of her more malleable brother. Forced out of her palace home, Elissa resolves to forge her own path. Both triumph and heartbreak await in the life that she builds, transforming herself from a sheltered princess into a strong and formidable leader....
