Penelope. Immortalised in legend and myth as the devoted wife of the glorious Odysseus, silently weaving and unpicking and weaving again as she waits for her husband's return. Now Penelope wanders the underworld, spinning a different kind of thread: her own side of the story - a tale of lust, greed and murder.
Modern fictionDazzling retelling of the old myth of Penelope, daughter of King Icarius of Sparta and the cousin of the beautiful Helen of Troy. Atwood is the bestselling author of Oryx & Crake, The Blind Assassin, and The Handmaid's Tale.
For Penelope, wife of Odyseeus, 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...