# Glorious Exploits

By Ferdia Lennon

Profile: https://hahafiction.com/books/glorious-exploits-39a7f625/

In Syracuse in 412 BC, unemployed potters Lampo and Gelon decide to stage Euripides' Medea with Athenian prisoners held in a quarry. They need actors, food to keep the cast alive and an audience in a city hostile to the men performing. Their enthusiasm for theater has led them into the aftermath of a disastrous invasion.

## What makes it funny?

Lampo spends money meant to feed the cast on his own appearance. His vanity turns an ordinary production headache into a particularly bad decision when the actors are starving prisoners. In the opening, his cheerful boasting also gives Gelon plenty to interrupt.

### The comedy at work

Lampo tells this ancient story in a breezy, profane modern Irish voice. His self-importance makes for a running argument with the more attentive Gelon, while the practical work of putting on a play keeps exposing the distance between artistic ambition and looking after other people.

### Try this if…

Friendship tested through amateur theater is a strong reason to choose this. Readers who welcome modern speech in an ancient setting can follow the pair's banter and production troubles without expecting a solemn reconstruction of classical life.

### Good to know

The theatrical venture grows darker. Starvation, profanity and the consequences of war remain present beneath the friends' enthusiasm and jokes.

## What to expect

- Genre: Historical
- On the shelf: Ancient world
- Kind of humor: Banter · Dark comedy
- The atmosphere: Irreverent
- Format: Novel
- Length: 304 pages
- Audiobook: 8 hr 14 min
- Published: 2024

## A few distinguishing details

- Two unemployed potters cast war prisoners in Medea
- Ancient Sicily narrated in a profane modern Irish voice

## Sources & further reading

- Review: [Kirkus review](https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/ferdia-lennon/glorious-exploits)
- Publisher: [Publisher’s opening sample](https://cdn.penguin.co.uk/dam-assets/books/9780241617649/9780241617649-sample.pdf)
- Author commentary: [Author](https://www.ferdialennon.com/)
- Book information: [Unabridged audiobook edition](https://books.apple.com/us/audiobook/glorious-exploits-a-novel-unabridged/id1704777304)
- Publisher: [US publisher and excerpt](https://academic.macmillan.com/academictrade/9781250893697/gloriousexploits)