In the first novel of her stunning trilogy, Mary Renault vividly imagines the life of Alexander the Great, the charismatic leader whose drive and ambition created a legend.

Published as part of a beautifully designed series to mark the 40th anniversary of the Virago Modern Classics.

Alexander's beauty, strength and defiance were apparent from birth, but his boyhood honed those gifts into the makings of a king. His mother, Olympias, and his father, King Philip of Macedon, fought each other for their son's loyalty, teaching Alexander politics and vengeance from the cradle.

His love for the youth Hephaistion taught him trust, while Aristotle's tutoring provoked his mind and Homer's Iliad fuelled his aspirations. Killing his first man in battle at the age of twelve, he became regent at sixteen and commander of Macedon's cavalry at eighteen, so that by the time his father was murdered, Alexander's skills had grown to match his fiery ambition.

Books included in the VMC 40th anniversary series include:

• Frost in May by Antonia White
• The Collected Stories of Grace Paley
• Fire from Heaven by Mary Renault
• The Magic Toyshop by Angela Carter
• The Weather in the Streets by Rosamond Lehmann
• Deep Water by Patricia Highsmith
• The Return of the Soldier by Rebecca West
• Their Eyes Were Watching God by Zora Neale Hurston
• Heartburn by Nora Ephron
• The Dud Avocado by Elaine Dundy
• Memento Mori by Muriel Spark
• A View of the Harbour by Elizabeth Taylor
• and Faces in the Water by Janet Frame