The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus

For Penelope, wife of Odysseus, maintaining a kingdom while her husband was off fighting the Trojan war was not a simple business. Already aggrieved that he had been lured away due to the shocking behaviour of her beautiful cousin Helen, Penelope must bring up her wayward son, face down scandalous rumours and keep over a hundred lustful, greedy and bloodthirsty suitors at bay…And then, when Odysseus finally returns and slaughters the murderous suitors, he brutally hangs Penelope’s twelve beloved maids. What were his motives? And what was Penelope really up to? Critically acclaimed when it was first published as part of Canongate’s “Myth” series, and following a very successful adaptation by the RSC, this new edition of “The Penelopiad” sees Margaret Atwood give Penelope a modern and witty voice to tell her side of the story, and set the record straight for good.

Reviews of The Penelopiad: The Myth of Penelope and Odysseus

Half-Dorothy Parker, half-Desperate Housewives. Independent As potent as a curse. — Lucy Hughes Hallett Sunday Times * Pragmatic, clever, domestic, mournful, Penelope is a perfect Atwood heroine. — Sam Leith Spectator * Atwood takes Penelope's part with tremendous verve…she explores the very nature of mythic story-telling. — Mary Beard Guardian * Atwood's typical wit and vim on fine display: with the late maids providing a Greek chorus, Penelope swoops across the centuries to pithily slate her cousin Helen of Troy, judge Odysseus and even provide a feminist viewpoint of which Homer could nary have dreamt. Observer