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Helena Paperback – December 11, 2012

4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 360 ratings

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Evelyn Waugh's personal favorite of his novels and "a superlatively well done book" (Chicago Tribune) set in the age of Emperor Constantine.







Helena is the intelligent, horse-mad daughter of a British chieftain who is thrown into marriage with the man who will one day become the Roman emperor Constantius. Leaving home for lands unknown, she spends her adulthood seeking truth in the religions, mythologies, and philosophies of the declining ancient world, and becomes initiated into Christianity just as it is recognized as the religion of the Roman Empire.
Helena--a novel that Evelyn Waugh considered to be his favorite, and most ambitious, work--deftly traverses the forces of corruption, treachery, enlightenment, and political intrigue of Imperial Rome as it brings to life an inspiring heroine.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"[Helena] may be read on two levels of appreciation. As bright entertainment, or as deceptively profound commentary. On both levels it's a superlatively well done book."―Chicago Tribune

"In
Helena, the play of words and the fireworks, the exquisite descriptions of landscapes, and even the finished portraits of the heroine, her husband, and her son, are always subordinate to the author's broad vision of the mixed anguish and hope with which the world of Constantine's time was filled."―New York Herald Tribune

About the Author

Evelyn Waugh (1903-1966), whom Time called "one of the century's great masters of English prose," wrote several widely acclaimed novels as well as volumes of biography, memoir, travel writing, and journalism. Three of his novels, A Handful of Dust, Scoop, and Brideshead Revisited, were selected by the Modern Library as among the 100 best novels of the twentieth century.

Product details

  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Back Bay Books; Reissue edition (December 11, 2012)
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • Paperback ‏ : ‎ 256 pages
  • ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0316216518
  • ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0316216517
  • Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 2.31 pounds
  • Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 5.5 x 0.75 x 8.25 inches
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.3 4.3 out of 5 stars 360 ratings

About the author

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Evelyn Waugh
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Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (/ˈɑːrθər ˈiːvlɪn ˈsɪndʒən wɔː/; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966), known by his pen name Evelyn Waugh, was an English writer of novels, biographies and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and reviewer of books. His most famous works include the early satires Decline and Fall (1928) and A Handful of Dust (1934), the novel Brideshead Revisited (1945) and the Second World War trilogy Sword of Honour (1952–61).

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Customer reviews

4.3 out of 5 stars
360 global ratings

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Customers say

Customers find the story captivating and engaging. They praise the writing quality as well-written and riveting. Many readers describe the book as a classic and worth reading.

AI-generated from the text of customer reviews

22 customers mention "Story quality"16 positive6 negative

Customers find the story engaging and well-written. They appreciate the author's use of myths and legends, as well as religious and historical accounts. The book is described as an interesting fictionalized account of Christian life during the reign of Emperor Constantine.

"...While he filled in unknown gaps, He paints a captivating story." Read more

"...I do appreciate a devoutly written book, and even more, one that is realistic and not sentimental...." Read more

"...But, he's a great writer, she's a great subject, it might be worth your time." Read more

"...known for "Brideshead Revisited," Waugh spins a great story about St. Helena, Roman Emperor Constantine's mother...." Read more

16 customers mention "Readability"14 positive2 negative

Customers find the book readable and interesting. They say it's a classic and well worth reading for Holy Week, as it covers historical aspects. The edition is great and it conveys a sense of grace effectively.

"...yet it certainly represents a worthwhile stretching of his talents and ably communicates the sense of grace and purpose he drew from his faith often..." Read more

"...An especially good read for Holy Week as it talks about the true historical existence of both Christ and the Cross...." Read more

"...Well worth the small investment of money" Read more

"...A good read, but not the great book I was hoping it would be." Read more

16 customers mention "Writing quality"16 positive0 negative

Customers find the book well-written and engaging. They describe it as an insightful story and a quick read, with great quotes. The author is considered one of the best writers of the 20th or 21st century.

"The author does a respectable jo b of bringing st. Helena to life as a person. While he filled in unknown gaps, He paints a captivating story." Read more

"...Of Dust," this is slightly flawed in pace and tone but a riveting read throughout, very different from his other novels yet in tune with Waugh's..." Read more

"...Rigorous in his thinking and theology, but still easy to read." Read more

"...I was excited when I found out that one of Britain’s greatest twentieth century novelists, Evelyn Waugh, had written a book about St. Helena...." Read more

Top reviews from the United States

  • Reviewed in the United States on December 25, 2022
    The author does a respectable jo
    b of bringing st. Helena to life as a person. While he filled in unknown gaps, He paints a captivating story.
  • Reviewed in the United States on October 18, 2006
    Evelyn Waugh is known for biting caustic satire and misogyny. He thinks nothing of killing small boys or tiny animals while scoring points against the bounders of society. His fiction contains more heartless, designing women then the back catalogs of ELO and Hall & Oates combined.

    "Helena" (1950) is one odd novel from such a man. Satiric quips come thick and fast, but there's a rare and deep sense of emotional investment, too. And the hero is the title character, a woman named Helena who finds herself the victim of a designing husband for a change but shakes off her disappointment in search of something true and eternal, a hunger that eventually leads her to Christianity and sainthood.

    Catholicism is the other thing Waugh is known for, and his trumping concern as far as "Helena" is concerned, a spiritual novel from the least spiritual of religiously-inclined writers. "The church isn't a cult for a few heroes," Helena is told by Pope Sylvester, advising her on what becomes her quest, to uncover the fragments of the Cross of the Crucifixion and bring them to the European heart of the Empire. "It is the whole of fallen mankind redeemed."

    While based on the real life of the mother of the first Roman emperor to reputedly embrace Christ, Waugh takes some liberties. Helena starts out here a British princess, horse-mad and lusty, who catches the eye of the Roman royal Constantius. Waugh's treatment of ancient customs isn't too far afield of how he serves up early 20th century London. When Constantius asks Helena's father for his daughter's hand, and mentions he has a chance of becoming emperor, the father isn't all that impressed.

    "Some of the emperors we've had lately, you know, have been nothing to make a song about," Poppa replies. "It's one thing burning incense to them and quite another having them in the family."

    Waugh employs this sort of anachronistic tension throughout his narrative, presenting Helena's contemporaries as social strivers not at all different from the people of Waugh's own day (and ours.) He also writes some of his most affecting prose this side of "Brideshead Revisited," beautiful visions of nature, the ancient world, and a boy who comes home from fishing "to lay his dripping creel before his mother, proud as a dog with a rat." Readers of Robert Graves' Claudius books will recognize a similar style to Waugh's depictions of court intrigue, romance, and life and death.

    Like another of Waugh's books, "Handful Of Dust," this is slightly flawed in pace and tone but a riveting read throughout, very different from his other novels yet in tune with Waugh's overall sensibility. Waugh called "Helena" his most successful novel, a verdict few share; yet it certainly represents a worthwhile stretching of his talents and ably communicates the sense of grace and purpose he drew from his faith often lacking even from his more famous works.
    34 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on August 26, 2023
    Only the barest outlines of the life St. Helena, mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, are known for certain. Evelyn Waugh has taken these spares facts and woven them into a novel that will inspire many in their faith. Rigorous in his thinking and theology, but still easy to read.
    One person found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2014
    I’ve long wondered about the truth behind theories that Helena, the Roman Emperor Constantine’s mother, was a British princess. As with the legend of King Arthur, we’ll probably never know the truth about her birth, but since I love the Arthurian legend, I like to think it’s true, and even that she is an ancestor to King Arthur himself since King Arthur is often theorized to be Constantine’s descendant.

    Consequently, I was excited when I found out that one of Britain’s greatest twentieth century novelists, Evelyn Waugh, had written a book about St. Helena. I was even more excited when I read in the book’s preface that the Wandering Jew—a favorite figure from Gothic literature—makes an appearance.

    Helena, published in 1950, actually was considered by Waugh to be his best work. I’m afraid that most critics, myself included, don’t agree. Otherwise, I’d have heard of the book long ago since I’ve read several of his better known—and better—novels such as A Handful of Dust and Brideshead Revisited. But being Catholic, an Arthurian enthusiast, and a scholar of British literature, I was curious to know how Waugh—a Catholic novelist—would treat the subject of St. Helena.

    I had really high hopes when I read George Weigl’s introduction to the book (I read the Loyala classics edition; Loyola is a Catholic publisher). I’m not a big fan of modernism and its lack of real meaning and the relativism it often favors. I don’t pretend to be completely traditional in my thinking as a Catholic, but I do appreciate a devoutly written book, and even more, one that is realistic and not sentimental. I’m afraid, however, that the introduction by George Weigel and Waugh’s Preface were the best part of the book for me. Weigel refers to how Waugh was against Gnosticism and the meaninglessness of life that it depicts. I think Weigel misunderstands Gnosticism in this description (or is relying on Waugh’s limited understanding of it in an era when many ancient Gnostic texts were just being rediscovered and would change our understanding of them), but clearly Waugh was against it—he shows Helena thinking it’s all “bosh” and I have to admit that the Gnostic texts I’ve read haven’t made much sense to me either—Waugh’s depiction of their convoluted mysticism is a pretty fair portrait—although I appreciate the recent revival of them and the spiritual message they try to express. I don’t have space here to debate their value, but Waugh should have given them less short shrift.

    What I liked best about Waugh’s book is that Helena is depicted as a no nonsense person. Whenever she is introduced to any religious ideas, she constantly asks, “How do you know it’s true?” In the end, she decides Christianity must be true because there are eyewitness accounts of Christ’s life, and if Christ lived, there has to have been a cross so when she finds the True Cross, she has proof of the religion’s validity.

    I also liked that in the Preface, Waugh dismisses the disbelief of so many people about the relics of the True Cross in existence in Europe, stating “We do know [how we know Waugh doesn’t say] that most of the relics of the true cross now venerated in various places have a clear descent from the relic venerated in the first half of the fourth century. It used to be believed by the vulgar that there were enough pieces of this ‘true cross’ to build a battleship. In the last century a French savant, Charles Rohault de Fleury, went to the great trouble of measuring them all. He found a total of 4,000,000 cubic millimeters, whereas the cross on which our Lord suffered would probably comprise some 178,000,000. As far as volume goes, therefore, there is no strain on the credulity of the faithful.”

    While I appreciated this no nonsense approach, I found the book’s overall tone somewhat tiring. Waugh’s sarcasm and cynicism and straining attempt to be funny do not support the theme or message he’s trying to deliver. The book’s style is that semi-humorous, tongue-in-cheek style of his contemporaries from the first half of the twentieth century, authors like John Erskine and T.H. White, and with all of them, I feel the result is a style that shows it is trying too hard to be funny, perhaps because it doesn’t know what it’s real subject is or how to take it seriously—perhaps afraid to take it too seriously from fear of failing in the attempt.

    Certainly, there is nothing funny in this book about Helena’s husband cheating on her, her son imposing religion on the empire for political motives, or his murdering his family members. The humor may not be laugh out loud funny, but it could use some toning down.

    What I enjoyed most about the book was how Waugh played with myths and legends. The Wandering Jew, whose connection to finding the True Cross in the novel is Waugh’s own invention, makes his appearance when Helena is in Jerusalem looking for the cross. Since he was at the event, he is able to guide her in knowing where to find the cross. Waugh has the Jew appear to Helena in a dream to give her the information, perhaps to avoid the novel losing its feel of realism. Waugh doubtless was aware of the Wandering Jew as a standard of Gothic literature, but he in no way depicts the Jew as a Gothic figure.

    Waugh also plays on the legend that Helena was a British princess and her British family are descendants of Brutus, himself a descendant of Aeneas, and consequently, of the royal family of Troy, another part of British mythology which many have tried to disprove and may well not be true, but makes for a great part of the Arthurian story.

    In the end, I don’t think Helena is a fabulous book. In fact, the pivotal moment when Helena becomes a Christian is brushed over, and I feel that really detracts from the whole argument Waugh is trying to make. Nor do I think she comes off looking like the kind of saint we would expect—a criticism Waugh would have understood. For Waugh, part of sainthood was about finding and living your vocation—Helena’s vocation was to find the cross. Waugh believed his own was to be a writer. Both served God in their own way through those vocations. Does it matter whether Helena found the True Cross? To some it may have added to their faith. Waugh himself actually comes off sounding uncertain. At the end of the preface he says, “The story is just something to be read; in fact, a legend.” But at the end of the novel itself, he states, “Above all the babble of her age and ours, she makes one blunt assertion. And there alone is hope.” Does the hope Waugh refers to lie in that she found the cross, or that there is hope itself? I guess it’s up to the reader to decide.

    For readers who want a different take on Helena that again ties her to British myth, they might also enjoy Diana Paxson’s Priestess of Avalon, part of the Marion Zimmer Bradley Avalon series, which takes a less Catholic view of Helena, as the title suggests.
    11 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on April 26, 2016
    Really well written and insightful conversion story. An especially good read for Holy Week as it talks about the true historical existence of both Christ and the Cross. Read it in about two days because I couldn't put it down.
  • Reviewed in the United States on September 7, 2019
    A historical novel, about St. Helena, the mother of Constantine, by Evelyn Waugh? How have I never heard of this? Perhaps because it is not the most successful novel; the tone keeps changing, there is a weird interpolation of modern doggerel, the ending was mysterious to me. But, he's a great writer, she's a great subject, it might be worth your time.
    6 people found this helpful
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  • Reviewed in the United States on May 14, 2015
    An author known for "Brideshead Revisited," Waugh spins a great story about St. Helena, Roman Emperor Constantine's mother. Credited with preserving religious artifacts from the Crucifixion, St. Helen's character comes to life in Waugh historical novel. Well worth the small investment of money
  • Reviewed in the United States on March 9, 2013
    Thsi is fascinating as a fictionalized account of a pivotal time in the hitory of the Church and western civilization, though it left me wanting more depth in character development and even a greater sweep of the historical circumstances. A good read, but not the great book I was hoping it would be.
    One person found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

  • Charles Wackett
    5.0 out of 5 stars See above.
    Reviewed in Canada on April 24, 2021
    Waugh rated this book his best, and I can understand why.
  • DAG Cook
    5.0 out of 5 stars Helena
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on March 7, 2009
    Evelyn Waugh's only historical novel is a convincing, although necessarily reconstructed picture of court life in the third and fourth century of the Roman Empire. It gives a chronologigal account of the life of Helena, mother of Constantine, as she moves at the whim of powerful men from Colchester through Gaul and Dalmatia to settle in Treves after her husband casts her aside in order to advance his career. She is depicted as even-tempered, practical and generous, but also as a seeker of spiritual truth. After the dreary speculations of Gnosticism, she finds the serene conviction of Lactantius intriguing. In particular she is attracted by the fact that the Christian God was a real person and the Crucifixion an historical event. Waugh asks, "Did she merely conform to the prevailing fashion, or lie open unresisting to Divine Grace and so without design become its brimming vehicle?" He concludes, "We do not know. She was one seed in a vast germination."
    She is past seventy when she makes her first visit to Rome for Constantine's Jubilee. Suddenly she is close to treachery and insane ambition at the pinnacle of power. Waugh's portrait of Constantine as drunk with success and on the brink of madness is witty but also edifying. How else does one explain the murder of his own son, Crispus? There is the pious suggestion that Helena and Pope Sylvester between them steer Constantine towards Christianity and some kind of self-discipline, although in fact he was only baptised at the end of his life, many years after his mother's death. Helena's visit to Jerusalem to discover the True Cross, the act with which she is forever associated and the reason she was canonised, provides a graceful coda to the book. The novel is learned, humorous, entertaining and at times poetic. That the subjects of Christian faith and personal sanctity are of central importance to Waugh is not in doubt, but he is too fine an artist to allow his writing to marred by anything as awkward as proselytising.
    Waugh felt this to be his finest novel. I agree.
  • D. Martland
    5.0 out of 5 stars Not like usual Waugh books.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 14, 2022
    Very unusual for Waugh , a historical novel .
  • Sterling Demchinsky
    5.0 out of 5 stars A Great Read
    Reviewed in Canada on August 29, 2009
    Helena is a terrific tale by a terrific writer. Waugh presents a spirit of one of history's most enigmatic and influential women. It is said that the hand that rocks the cradle rules the world. Saint Helen was the mother of the Roman Emperor who likely had the biggest impact on the course of European history and yet so little is known about her with certainty. If you keep in mind that this is a novel and not a history textbook, you will gain great enjoyment from Waugh's well-crafted story.
  • padraig caughey
    5.0 out of 5 stars One of the best.
    Reviewed in the United Kingdom on May 20, 2020
    This is one of the best biographies ever written. Slim on historical validity, but then at this times difference, who know? But Waugh is a tremendous story teller