The Penelopiad

Written by Margaret Atwood

A faithful wife tells her side of a famous homecoming, and twelve hanged maids answer back.

3.7 Goodreads · 101,187 ratings

224 pages· 29,912 words· ~1030L· AR 6.9 · 5 AR pts

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Bookroo's summary

Speaking from the underworld, Penelope tells her own version of the Odyssey: her marriage to Odysseus, the long wait while he wandered, the suitors who besieged her, and the twelve maids hanged on his return. The maids form a chorus that asks what really happened. Margaret Atwood's short novel retells the myth with wit and anger.

From the publisher

Margaret Atwood returns with a shrewd, funny, and insightful retelling of the myth of Odysseus from the point of view of Penelope. Describing her own remarkable vision, the author writes in the foreword, "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." One of the high points of literary fiction in 2005, this critically acclaimed story found a vast audience and is finally available in paperback.

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