Book Review: Helena by Evelyn Waugh

Helena by Evelyn Waugh

This fictional biography of Constantine's mother leans into the fiction because, quite frankly, not many facts about her origins (and a lot of her life) have survived the years. This book starts with her as a daughter of a British chieftain. Constantius, the future father of Constantine, comes on a secret mission and is smitten with her and arranges to marry her right away. Helena is a tall red-head teenager who is getting a classical education but really enjoys riding horses and going hunting. She is whisked away into the life of the Roman army, leading eventually to Roman politics as Constantius is drawn closer to the imperial purple. They have Constantine but have little time together,. Politics dictates an arranged marriage with another woman that will put Constantius closer to the throne. Helena tries to live a quiet life at this point but gets pulled back into imperial circumstances when Constantine becomes emperor. She also discovers Christianity, converting in short order. She goes on pilgrimage to Jerusalem where she builds many churches and finds the True Cross.

Waugh creates an interesting character in Helena. She is educated but is more grounded in real world things than a lot of the intellectuals she comes in contact with. Her British educator believes in a pagan myth about the creation of the world. When she asks, "But when and where did it happen?" he demurs. Constantine is drawn into a Mason-like cult before becoming Christian. He tells her their explanation of creation and she has the same questions. By contrast, Christianity has Jerusalem and various historical sites and a lot more reality about it. Her conversion is shrouded in mystery but it is taken as genuine. Constantine still consults witches and other pagan sources even as he leads Christian prayer services and debates theology. He seems less authentically Christian. Her devotion takes her from Rome to Jerusalem.

The book provides a sweeping view of the Roman world. Waugh is good at describing the journeys and the hardships, both physical and political, the characters face. Helena is an ideal blend of dreamer and realist. At first, she admires Helen of Troy (a namesake, clearly) and wants to visit Troy and Rome as famous, and presumably glorious, cities. By the time she gets to the Holy Land in her old age, she admires the Magi who worshipped the infant Jesus. They too had spent a long life of wandering only to find the true faith toward the end. She is a fascinating character. 

The story jumps around a bit. While the first chapters detail her life in Britain and her first travels in Europe, creating the expectation of a lot of detail to come, the story skips over many intervening years. The focus shifts to Constantine and his wife Fausta for a few chapters, seemingly leaving Helena out of her own story. Her conversion is just accepted as a fact, with no detail about how she came to the Faith. I found the narrative left out some bits I wished were there. I wanted more, though I did enjoy it.

Mildly recommended.