The Penelopiad
Published in 2005, The Penelopiad is a fairy-tale retelling and mythic fiction novel by Margaret Atwood. Readers will find themes of Greece and feminist retelling.
Open Library readers give it an average of 3.3 out of 5 from 15 ratings, and 146 more have it on their want-to-read list. It has been published in 50 editions across 12 languages.
It runs to roughly 191 pages — 3–4 hours of reading at an average pace.
About The Penelopiad
Homer's Odyssey is not the only version of the story. Mythic material was originally oral, and also local -- a myth would be told one way in one place and quite differently in another. I have drawn on material other than the Odyssey, especially for the details of Penelope's parentage, her early life and marriage, and the scandalous rumors circulating about her. I've chosen to give the telling of the story to Penelope and to the twelve hanged maids. The maids form a chanting and singing Chorus, which focuses on two questions that must pose themselves after any close reading of the Odyssey: What led to the hanging of the maids, and what was Penelope really up to? The story as told in the Odyssey doesn't hold water: there are too many inconsistencies. I've always been haunted by the hanged maids and, in The Penelopiad, so is Penelope herself. The author of The Handmaid's Tale and The Blind Assassin presents a cycle of stories about Penelope, wife of Odysseus, through the eyes of the twelve maids hanged for disloyalty to Odysseus in his absence.
Awards & lists
- ✦Mythopoeic Awards 2006 — Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Adult Literature (nominee)
- ✦Mythopoeic Awards 2006 — Overall (nominee)
Quick answers
Who wrote The Penelopiad?
The Penelopiad was written by Margaret Atwood and first published in 2005.
What genre is The Penelopiad?
It is usually shelved as Fairy Tale Retellings and Myth & Legend Fiction.
How long is The Penelopiad?
The median edition has 191 pages, about 3–4 hours of reading at 250 words per minute.
What books are similar to The Penelopiad?
Readers who like it often enjoy Wicked, Weight and A Thousand Ships.
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