'CLAIRE NORTH BRINGS A POWERFUL; FRESH AND UNFLINCHING VOICE TO ANCIENT MYTH' Jennifer Saint; author of Sunday Times bestseller Ariadne From the author of the critically acclaimed Ithaca - A Sunday Times Historical Fiction Book of the Year - comes an exquisite and gripping new tale that breathes life into ancient myth. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca; famed wife of Odysseus; as it has never been told before. On the isle of Ithaca; Queen Penelope maintains a delicate balance of power. Many years ago; her husband; Odysseus; sailed to war with Troy and never came home. In his absence; Penelope uses all her cunning to keep the peace - but this is shattered by the arrival of Orestes; king of Mycenae; and his sister Elektra. Orestes's hands are stained with his mother's blood. Not so long ago; the son of Agamemnon took Queen Clytemnestra's life on Ithaca's sands. Now; racked with guilt; he is slowly losing his mind. Penelope knows destruction will follow in his wake as surely as the Furies circle him. His uncle; Menelaus; the battle-hungry king of Sparta; longs for Orestes's throne - and if he can seize it; no one will be safe from his violent whims. Trapped between two mad kings; Penelope fights to keep war from Ithaca's shores. Her only allies are Elektra and Helen of Troy; Menelaus's enigmatic wife. And watching over them all is the goddess Aphrodite; who has plans of her own. Each woman has a secret. And their secrets will shape the world.