In THE TROJANS, Mr. Williams turns his pereptive eye and ear to the only real fantasy land in existence - the world of motion pictures. We are shown a business that is nothing like a business, an organization that sells images, physical and mental. Careers and, ultimately, lives hinge on the return of superstar Margaret Dayton to the Greek island location of the multi-million dollar epic, Helen of Troy. Those most affected ponder the reasons for her disappearance and, in so doing, become involved in a reevaluation of their own lives. These lives together form a network of human experience that starts with the motion picture world but goes far beyond it. Grover Brand, the cerebral author who constantly dissects motives, acts, and consequences, must ponder the validity of his relationship with Margaret. Did he become her husband because he loved her, or did he marry her for the book he felt he could wring from such an alliance? Sidney Tate, the president of Globe Pictures, once a feared and respected surgeon for ailing corporations, finds himself and his business failing with the only hope for survival dependent upon Margaret's return. Octavia Dayton nurtures a promiscuity which does not exclude her daughter's lovers. Nelson Glassgow, Margaret's agent, has an Interest in both Dayton women which produces a schism between Margaret and Octavia. Howard Sills, once the young genius of the motion picture industry, must try to recoup his loss of prestige as a producer with Helen of Troy. Mace Garret, Margaret's costar and an erstwhile boxer turned amorous actor, must contend with his greatest opponent - his own body. Each character is a masterpiece of insight. It is this fluid and sentient writing which will involve the reader in their lives ...and the massive range of experience they represent. Book
