This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca’s shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women – and their goddesses – that will change the course of the world. ‘The greatest power we women can own is that which we take in secret.’ Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the isle of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely ..read more

The story of Troy speaks to all of us – the kidnapping of Helen, a queen celebrated for her beauty, sees the Greeks launch a thousand ships against the city of Troy, to which they will lay siege for ten whole years. It is a terrible war with casualties on all sides as well as strained relations between allies, whose consequences become tragedies. In Troy you will find heroism and hatred, love and loss, revenge and regret, desire and despair. It is these human passions, written bloodily in the sands of a distant shore, that still speak to us today.  *** Troy. The most marvellous ..read more

Now that all the others have run out of air, it’s my turn to do a little story-making. 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 ho ..read more

This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures…everyone’s favourite hero, right? Well, it’s not. This is the story of everyone else: Alcmene: Herc’s mother (She has knives everywhere) Hylas: Herc’s first friend (They were more than friends) Megara: Herc’s wife (She’ll tell you about their marriage) Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc’s labours (He never asked for the job) His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims. It’s time to hear their stories. *** We wanted a girl. – Amphitryon 1 *** (@HQstories, 31 August 2023 ..read more

Philoctetes lives in a cave on a desolate island: the wartime hero is now a wounded outcast. Stranded for ten years, he sees a chance of escape when a young soldier appears with tales of Philoctetes’ past glories. But with hope comes suspicion – and, as an old enemy emerges, he is faced with an even greater temptation: revenge. *** The island; a bleak beach, rubbish-strewn, still in chaos from a huge wave that broke some years before. *** (@picadorbooks, 5 August 2021, paperback, 137 pages, bought from @bookshop_org_UK) *** FIND OUT MORE *** I’m a huge fan of the author so had to read Paradi ..read more

Bolu Babalola finds the most beautiful love stories from history and mythology and rewrites them with incredible new detail and vivacity in this debut collection. Focusing on the magical folktales of West Africa, Babalola also reimagines iconic Greek myths, ancient legends from the Middle East, and stories from countries that no longer exist in our world. A high-born Nigerian goddess feels beaten down and unappreciated by her gregarious lover and longs to be truly seen. A young businesswoman attempts to make a great leap in her company, and an even greater one in her love life. A powerful Ghan ..read more

Following her bestselling, critically acclaimed The Silence of the Girls, Pat Barker continues her extraordinary retelling of one of our greatest myths. ‘Taut, masterly, wholly absorbing. Still one of the greatest stories ever written. A book that will be read in generations to come’ Daily Telegraph on The Silence of the Girls Troy has fallen. The Greeks have won their bitter war. They can return home as victors, loaded with their spoils: their stolen gold, stolen weapons, stolen women. All they need is a good wind to lift their sails. But the wind does not come. The gods have been offended ..read more

The ancient city of Troy has withstood a decade under siege of the powerful Greek army, which continues to wage bloody war over a stolen woman: Helen. In the Greek camp, another woman watches and waits for the war’s outcome: Briseis. She was queen of one of Troy’s neighbouring kingdoms until Achilles, Greece’s greatest warrior, sacked her city and murdered her husband and brothers. Briseis becomes Achilles’s concubine, a prize of battle, and must adjust quickly in order to survive a radically different life, as one of the many conquered women who serve the Greek army. When Agamemnon, the bruta ..read more

Stumbling down Clifton Street at 11:30 a.m. drunk, Effie is the kind of girl you’d avoid eye contact with, silently passing judgment. We think we know her, but we don’t know the half of it. Effie’s life spirals through a mess of drink, drugs and drama every night, and a hangover worse than death the next day – till one night gives her the chance to be something more. In this powerful, new adaptation of the enduring Greek myth of the ill-fated Iphigenia, playwright Gary Owen, director Rachel O’Riordan, and actress Sophie Melville (who received a Drama Desk nomination for her stunning, furi ..read more