Olivia Coolidge (1908-2006) · AuthorAuthor
Olivia Coolidge
1908-2006 · English-born American writer of myths, history, and biography for young readers
About Olivia Coolidge
Olivia Coolidge (1908–2006), born Margaret Olivia Ensor in London, was the daughter of the journalist and historian Sir Robert Ensor. She read classics and philosophy at Somerville College, Oxford, taught Greek, Latin and English in Germany, England and the United States, and in 1946 married Archibald C. Coolidge of Connecticut. Her first book, Greek Myths (1949), was followed by Legends of the North (1951) and The Trojan War (1952), all illustrated by Edouard Sandoz. She wrote 27 books for young readers, including Men of Athens, a Newbery Honor book in 1963, Lives of Famous Romans, and biographies of figures from Gandhi to Winston Churchill.
Notable works
- Greek Myths (1949)
- Legends of the North (1951)
- The Trojan War (1952)
- Men of Athens (1962)
- Lives of Famous Romans
On this site
The Trojan WarOlivia Coolidge
1952 · Postwar Contemporary · Short Stories
Olivia Coolidge's The Trojan War retells the whole legend of Troy, from its cause in heaven to the homecomings of the Greek kings, in 33 short chapters that can each be read as a story on its own. It begins with the golden apple thrown among the goddesses, the judgment of Paris, and the beauty of Helen, whom Paris carries off from her husband Menelaus of Sparta.