The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

The Penelopiad by Margaret Atwood

In Homer's account in The Odyssey, Penelope - wife of Odysseus and cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy - is portrayed as the quintessential faithful wife, her story a salutary lesson through the ages. Left alone for twenty years when Odysseus goes off to fight in the Trojan war after the abduction of Helen, Penelope manages, in the face of scandalous rumours, to maintain the kingdom of Ithaca, bring up her wayward son, and keep over a hundred suitors at bay, simultaneously. When Odysseus finally comes home after enduring hardships, overcoming monsters and sleeping with goddesses, he kills her suitors and - curiously - twelve of her maids. In a splendid contemporary twist to the ancient story, Margaret Atwood has chosen to give the telling of it to Penelope and to her twelve hanged Maids, asking: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? In Atwood's dazzling, playful retelling, the story becomes as wise and compassionate as it is haunting, and as wildly entertaining as it is disturbing. With wit and verve, drawing on the storytelling and poetic talent for which she herself is renowned, she gives Penelope new life and reality - and sets out to provide an answer to an ancient mystery.

As potent as a curse * * Sunday Times * *
Explores the very nature of mythic story-telling -- MARY BEARD * * Guardian * *
A witty desecration * * Observer * *
Pragmatic, clever, domestic, mournful, Penelope is a perfect Atwood heroine * * Spectator * *
Half Dorothy Parker, half Desperate Housewives * * Independent * *

Margaret Atwood is the author of more than forty books of fiction, poetry and critical essays. In addition to the classic The Handmaid's Tale, her novels include Cat's Eye, shortlisted for the Booker Prize, Alias Grace, which won the Giller Prize in Canada and the Premio Mondello in Italy, The Blind Assassin, winner of the 2000 Booker Prize and Oryx and Crake, shortlisted for the Man Booker Prize. She was awarded the Prince of Asturias Prize for Literature in 2008. In 2017, The Handmaid's Tale was adapted for an Emmy-nominated TV series and Alias Grace was adapted into a Netflix Original.

SKU	Unavailable
ISBN 13	9781837260928
ISBN 10	1837260923
Title	The Penelopiad
Author	Margaret Atwood
Series	Canons Ser
Condition	Unavailable
Binding Type	Hardback
Publisher	Canongate Books
Year published	2025-10-23
Number of pages	224
Prizes	Short-listed for Hearst Big Book 2018 (UK)
Cover note	Book picture is for illustrative purposes only, actual binding, cover or edition may vary.