Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster who has devoted much of the last twenty years to the vibrant communication of the past. Her first book, Helen of Troy: Goddess,Princess, Whore, was published to great critical acclaim and has now been translated into ten languages. Her latest work, The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search For The Good Life, was short-listed for the Writer's Guild Award and was a New York Times bestseller. Bettany has written and presented over 30 factual films and radio documentary series for the BBC, Channel 4, PBS, Discovery, The History Channel and ABC for both the British and International markets including 'Divine Women', ‘The Spartans’, ‘When The Moors Ruled in Europe’, ‘Athens: The Truth of Democracy’, ‘The Women of the Bible’, 'Alexandria: The Greatest City' and ‘Helen of Troy’. These have now been seen by over 150 million people worldwide. In recognition of her 'outstanding contribution' to history and historical research Bettany has been awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal for History. Bettany is a founding patron of the educational charity 'Classics For All', was the Chair of the Orange Prize for Fiction and advisor to The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation. Bettany was a Scholar at Oxford University and holds a Research Fellowship at King’s College, London. She lives in the UK and abroad with her husband and their two daughters.

"The book triumphantly reclaims Helen from some of her traducers. Hughes' portrait is as close to a real, living Helen as we are likely to get" Financial Times "This book is a real tour de force. It combines astonishing erudition and knowledge of the early classical world with a wonderful easy fluency of writing" -- John Julius Norwich "Evoking in sensuous and gorgeous prose the citadels, the palaces and the luxuries of that long-vanished world... A passionate book" Sunday Times "Fantastic... I have never, ever, read anybody write so well about travels in Greece and going to explore archaeological sites" -- Professor Edith Hall Woman's Hour "A genuinely exciting historial narrative" Sunday Telegraph

Bettany Hughes is an award-winning historian, author and broadcaster who has devoted much of the last twenty years to the vibrant communication of the past. Her first book, Helen of Troy: Goddess,Princess, Whore, was published to great critical acclaim and has now been translated into ten languages. Her latest work, The Hemlock Cup: Socrates, Athens and the Search For The Good Life, was short-listed for the Writer's Guild Award and was a New York Times bestseller. Bettany has written and presented over 30 factual films and radio documentary series for the BBC, Channel 4, PBS, Discovery, The History Channel and ABC for both the British and International markets including 'Divine Women', ‘The Spartans’, ‘When The Moors Ruled in Europe’, ‘Athens: The Truth of Democracy’, ‘The Women of the Bible’, 'Alexandria: The Greatest City' and ‘Helen of Troy’. These have now been seen by over 150 million people worldwide. In recognition of her 'outstanding contribution' to history and historical research Bettany has been awarded the Norton Medlicott Medal for History. Bettany is a founding patron of the educational charity 'Classics For All', was the Chair of the Orange Prize for Fiction and advisor to The Foundation for Science, Technology and Civilisation. Bettany was a Scholar at Oxford University and holds a Research Fellowship at King’s College, London. She lives in the UK and abroad with her husband and their two daughters.

"The book triumphantly reclaims Helen from some of her traducers. Hughes' portrait is as close to a real, living Helen as we are likely to get" Financial Times "This book is a real tour de force. It combines astonishing erudition and knowledge of the early classical world with a wonderful easy fluency of writing" -- John Julius Norwich "Evoking in sensuous and gorgeous prose the citadels, the palaces and the luxuries of that long-vanished world... A passionate book" Sunday Times "Fantastic... I have never, ever, read anybody write so well about travels in Greece and going to explore archaeological sites" -- Professor Edith Hall Woman's Hour "A genuinely exciting historial narrative" Sunday Telegraph