A feminist perspective of the myth of Penelope in Annie Leclerc's Toi, Pénélope, Margaret Atwood's The Penelopiad and Silvana La Spina's Penelope

The award-winning author of The Four Seasons retells The Odyssey from the point of view of Odysseus and Penelope's daughter. With her father Odysseus gone for twenty years, Xanthe barricades herself in her royal chambers to escape the rapacious suitors who would abduct her to gain the throne. Xanthe turns to her loom to weave the adventures of her life, from her upbringing among servants and slaves, to the years spent in hiding with her mother's cousin, Helen of Troy, to the passion of her sexual awakening in the arms of the man she loves. And when a stranger dressed as a beggar appears at the palace, Xanthe wonders who will be the one to decide her future-a suitor she loathes, a brother she cannot respect, or a father who doesn't know she exists...

Leading and emerging, early career scholars in Classical Reception Studies come together in this volume to explore the under-represented area of the Australasian Classical Tradition. They interrogate the interactions between Mediterranean Antiquity and the antipodean worlds of New Zealand and Australia through the lenses of literature, film, theatre and fine art. Of interest to scholars across the globe who research the influence of antiquity on modern literature, film, theatre and fine art, this volume fills a decisive gap in the literature by bringing antipodean research into the spotlight. Following a contextual introduction to the field, the six parts of the volume explore the latest research on subjects that range from the Lord of the Rings and Xena: Warrior Princess franchises to important artists such as Sidney Nolan and local authors whose work offers opportunities for cross-cultural and interdisciplinary analysis with well-known Western authors and artists.

Penelope is certain that she is royalty because of all the similarities between her life and that of a princess.

Spoiled Princess Penelope cannot get her new parrot to talk, even after threatening it and calling it nasty names. But when Prince Percival comes courting, the parrot gets revenge on the greedy princess in a hilarious and fitting conclusion. Featuring bonus audio!