The enthralling new queer, feminist retelling of Greece's greatest hero, Hercules' myth

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award

Waterstones best book of the year 2023

'A remarkable feat of storytelling' Rosie Hewlett

This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures...everyone''s favourite hero, right? Well, it''s not. This is the story of everyone else: Alcmene: Herc''s mother (She has knives everywhere) Hylas: Herc''s first friend (They were more than friends) Megara: Herc''s wife (She''ll tell you about their marriage) Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc''s labours (He never asked for the job) His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims. It''s time to hear their stories. Told with humour and heart, Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking ) retelling of classic Hercules myth. Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Joanne M. Harris

Autorentext

Phoenicia Rogerson is altogether mortal with a rather less chequered past than Hercules. After a decade of not being able to find his complete story on bookshelves, she decided to pull her socks up and write it herself. She's had two short stories published in the UCL Publisher's Prize. She lives and works in London. Herc is her first novel.

Klappentext

Winner of the Somerset Maugham Award

Waterstones best book of the year 2023

'A remarkable feat of storytelling' Rosie Hewlett This should be the story of Hercules: his twelve labours, his endless adventures...everyone's favourite hero, right? Wrong.

This is the story of everyone else:

Alcmene: Herc's mother (She has knives everywhere)

Hylas: Herc's first friend (They were more than friends)

Megara: Herc's wife(She'll tell you about their marriage)

Eurystheus: Oversaw Herc's labours (He never asked for the job)

His friends, his enemies, his wives, his children, his lovers, his rivals, his gods, his victims.

It's time to hear their stories.

Herc gives voice to the silenced characters, in this feminist, queer (and sometimes shocking) retelling of classic Hercules myth. Perfect for fans of Madeline Miller and Joanne M. Harris 'It. Is. Fantastic' NetGalley reviewer

'An absolute delight' NetGalley reviewer