Aleta and the Queen: A Tale of Ancient Greece

Patricia Morley is professor emerita of English and Canadian studies at
Concordia University, Japan Foundation Fellow 1991-92, and the author of
Margaret Laurence: The Long Journey Home and As Though Life Mattered:
Leo Kennedy’s Story.

Homer’s Odyssey, an epic of adventure and intrigue that has held
readers spellbound for thousands of years, is the inspiration for Aleta
and the Queen, a long tale of intrigue in Penelope’s court, which
climaxes with her husband Odysseus’s return. While Homer’s story
focuses on the royal wanderer and his son, Galloway’s is centred on
Penelope, her courtiers, and some of the gods and goddesses who they
believed intervened in human lives. Aleta is the granddaughter of
Penelope’s housekeeper and trusted companion.

Normand Cousineau’s illustrations (originally in ink and gouache) are
truly magnificent. A warm-umber tone predominates, suggestive of
Mediterranean pottery, jewelry, torches, and the sun. They are stylized
in a Cubist mode, bold and dramatic yet detailed and touched by humor.
My favorite shows women washing clothes in the river below the castle
hill.

Galloway’s story is backed by impressive research, yet never loses
touch with the drama’s human focus. The text and illustrations are
well matched; both are fiercely imaginative and deeply human. Highly
recommended.