Colette Obrien

Echo the Ancients Colette Obrien

Echo the Ancients is a vibrant historical novel that shines a light on the Minoan culture, a matriarchal society based on the island of Crete from 4000 to 1500 BC, and illustrates its power to transform lives in modern times.

The novel follows fourteen-year-old Gloria, who is living on the Mediterranean island with her father and mother in 1954. When Andromache, Gloria's Cretan tutor, begins to weave a story about the ancient Minoans, Gloria's eyes light up. Taking place a hundred years before the Minoans disappeared without a trace, the legend tells of how Mara, the head of Queen Nausicaa's palace dance company, and her family members were confronted by omens of monumental change.

As Andromache unfurls her enthralling tale, Gloria's dark world is illuminated by the shining example of a culture that lived in harmony with nature and was devoted to the Great Goddess, art, dance, sports, and beauty.