Alcestis

Summary

WINNER OF THE EDMUND WHITE DEBUT FICTION AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY ASSOCIATION'S LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION
AWARD
A fiercely feminist retelling of a little-known Greek myth: the ultimate story of
sacrifice and forbidden desire
In Greek myth, Alcestis is known as the ideal wife; she loved her husband so much
that she died and went to the underworld in his place. But who was Alcestis
before she was married? Other than her love for Admetus, what circumstances
led her to make this ultimate sacrifice? And what happened to her in the three
days she spent in the underworld?
Katharine Beutner’s lush, emotionally devastating debut explores the magical
reality of ancient Greece, where gods attend weddings and the underworld is just
a river away. As Alcestis goes from sheltered princess to wise savior, she redefines
love and discovers her own power—a poignant heroine’s journey that resonates
more than ever today. Giving an achingly beautiful voice to the most
misunderstood wives of Greek mythology, Alcestis reveals the underworld as
you’ve never seen it before.
“Beutner helps us re-see the familiar … Alcestis is nobody’s celebratory gayed-up
Greek myth (for that, try Ovid). Instead, Beutner’s retelling is resolutely queer:
strange, beautiful, ambivalent, sexually fluid, full of human complexity and godly
simplicity.”—Andrea Lawlor, Lambda Literary
Quotes
Author Bio
Narrator Bio
© Print Copyright
©2010 by Katharine Beutner
? Audio Copyright
?2024 by Recorded Books
Cover Design
Artwork Credits
Cover art: Cristina Bencina
Arrangement
Recorded by arrangement with Soho Press, Inc.
ISBNs
C084629 5062607 9798891783164 Alcestis
Z20737 5062607 9798891783171 Alcestis
DG16918 5062607 9798891783188 Alcestis
Images
Insert cover JPG and cover PDF here
Alcestis
Title
Alcestis
Subtitle
Series
Author
Katharine Beutner
Narrator
Eva Kaminsky
Copy
WINNER OF THE EDMUND WHITE DEBUT FICTION AWARD
FINALIST FOR THE LAMBDA LITERARY ASSOCIATION'S LESBIAN DEBUT FICTION
AWARD
A fiercely feminist retelling of a little-known Greek myth: the ultimate story of
sacrifice and forbidden desire
In Greek myth, Alcestis is known as the ideal wife; she loved her husband so much
that she died and went to the underworld in his place. But who was Alcestis
before she was married? Other than her love for Admetus, what circumstances
led her to make this ultimate sacrifice? And what happened to her in the three
days she spent in the underworld?
Katharine Beutner’s lush, emotionally devastating debut explores the magical
reality of ancient Greece, where gods attend weddings and the underworld is just
a river away. As Alcestis goes from sheltered princess to wise savior, she redefines
love and discovers her own power—a poignant heroine’s journey that resonates
more than ever today. Giving an achingly beautiful voice to the most
misunderstood wives of Greek mythology, Alcestis reveals the underworld as
you’ve never seen it before.
“Beutner helps us re-see the familiar … Alcestis is nobody’s celebratory gayed-up
Greek myth (for that, try Ovid). Instead, Beutner’s retelling is resolutely queer:
strange, beautiful, ambivalent, sexually fluid, full of human complexity and godly
simplicity.”—Andrea Lawlor, Lambda Literary