Feminist Retelling of Greek Myth Phaedra

Laura Shepperson's Phaedra is a powerful reimagining of Greek mythology, offering a fresh feminist perspective on an ancient tale. Its exploration of themes such as justice, women's rights, and power dynamics makes it a significant read for those interested in mythological retellings and contemporary issues.

This book details the tragic story of the children of Knossos, including Minos, Adriadne and Phaedra. Phaedra, the main character, is forced to watch as Theseus kills her brother, takes her sister and finally herself away from her family. Alone in Athens, Phaedra expects to be treated with distant respect, but is soon faced with more horrifying conditions. This book teases apart the myth, separating it into beautiful, but tragic threads that unravel the whole tapestry. Highly recommended.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson is a must-read for fans of powerful feminist retellings of classic mythology, particularly those who appreciate intriguing explorations of Greek mythology, feminist themes, and the unyielding quest for justice, as this debut novel masterfully weaves together a stunning story of one woman's bravery in the face of patriarchy.

Phaedra by Laura Shepperson
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A retelling about the Greek princess Phaedra.

Phaedra is the daughter of King Minos and sister to Ariadne. She loves her home and is devastated when she has to leave after marrying Theseus. Athens is a scary city for her and all women. Especially since Theseus’ son won’t stop looking at her.
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So I have this habit of being obsessed with Greek stories, reading them, and then being depressed. Greek stories are really depressing! When will I remember this and give up on them?

I was really hoping that somehow Phaedra’s story would give me a happy ending. (☹️☹️☹️) Although I didn’t really know much about this princess to begin with, so I did learn a lot.
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3⭐️⭐️⭐️ This was a really sad story.

I was advised by a friend that this book would not be for me, so I dnf'd pretty early unfortuantley. But I appreciate the publisher sending me an earc.

I LOVED Circe by Madeline Miller, so finding another retelling of a much maligned mythological woman was very exciting. Everyone knows Theseus and Herakles (Hercules), but I admit I didn't know anything about Phaedra other than her name. Shepperson did a great job of filling in the gaps of so-called "secondary" or "tertiary" characters that are often cast aside for the usual "heroic" men. I didn't like Phaedra very much during the book, but that's not the point. The male heroes are rarely super likable, but they're heroic so it's fine. Any unlikeable women in this context are evil, murdering, whoring witches that can't be trusted.
I really enjoyed this book, maybe more so because I'm not familiar with the traditional myth. The tragedy is still a tragedy, but the women of the story get some agency back. Great job.

A few too many characters and storylines took this retelling of the story of Phaedra off course and made it a bit difficult to get through. The author was ambitious in their approach to this novel in setting it up in three parts with the 'night chorus' of women lamenting their lot in life and interspersing it with snippets of the lives of others in the orbit of Theseus and Phaedra, but there wasn't enough of a 'voice' differentiation of these characters in writing which led to some confusion on who was doing the speaking. However, I'm a sucker for the Greek myths and their retellings so overall it was a pleasant read that could have used a bit of tweaking.

This book was introspective and informative and I felt it was lacking in some areas that I would have loved to see further explored. But I will always appreciate a retelling that focuses on the woman's POV.

Unfortunately this did not work for me. The writing needed more editing and the characters felt very juvenile.

A Greek tragedy in true style. I listened to the audio version of this book. It was a cast reading and I really enjoyed the different voices and actors. It is told from each person's perspective then revisited from the next person's perspective but not entirely. You get bits and pieces of the story as each person's view occurs. If you are not familiar with Phaedra's story, realize that it is centered around rape. The scene itself isn't too graphic but conveys the anger and violence. The story is set in 3 Acts just like a Greek play and has a Chorus which is vital to the storyline. Again, the cast reading was VERY effective for the Chorus parts. I felt it was a quick story that kept me engaged. I will be recommending it to any of my friends that are not bothered about the theme of rape.

A retelling/reimagining of Phaedra's story in Greek myths. It comes down in many versions to begin with, based in the still-with-us problem of family dynamics. What do you do when blended family members' attractions to each other cross lines? Still a problem. But Phaedra's original family adds its layer of complexity, too. What to do with the Minotaur as a sib? and a sister who aids and abets that sib's murder?

This retelling puts a different twist on it, telling the story from a feminist perspective - focusing on where women were in the mix of community power and roles of responsibility. Medea is included in the character cast, and I did enjoy Phaedra's nurse/companion Kandake - providing a full range of immortal-royalty to rags rainbow of class.

Particularly interesting to me was the Night Chorus, quite like the Greek chorus in a play. . .I both read and listened to this book, and in the audio version the Night Chorus was surprising and compelling - I began to anticipate their turn. In fact, I was mildly disappointed that they didn't end the tale, but it was just a wild hope.

A good read, very Greek Mythy. I would recommend a good grounding in Greek mythology - to gather how different this retelling is from the common versions of Phaedra's story as passed down through history.

*A sincere thank you to Laura Shepperson, Alcove Press and NetGalley for an ARC to read and independently review.* #Phaedra #NetGalley

This book follows the story of Phaedra, the sister of Ariadne and the wife of Theseus. After the Minotaur is slayed and Ariadne runs off to get married, Phaedra is given in marriage to Theseus. The union is filled with turmoil, which is a fairly well known fact. This book does its best to tackle topics of racial, class, and gender inequality of the time period and that of modern times. It started out strong, but after the first half I noticed the "oomph" seemed to have faded. The writing declined and it all seemed very young or simple. I think, at this point, to follow the trend of myth novels a book need to stand up to stiff competition. This one didn't make a bit enough mark for me. I enjoyed the story, but it isn't a new adventure, and there just wasn't enough of an addition to make this remarkable.

Written in the style of a Greek tragedy, Phaedra certainly packs a rage-filled punch when it comes to justice and retribution for the women of Athens.

Phaedra is often a maligned figure in Greek mythology, especially when most myths are found being told by men. She seduced her husband's son, Hippolytus. When he rejected her, she accused him of rape which set off a series of events resulting in both her and Hippolytus's death.

Shepperson's Phaedra is a different take on the tale, told from the multiple perspectives including Phaedra being the dominant voice. Phaedra is given breath and life, and also a mission: Mete out vengeance to those that have wronged her and her family. The journey she takes ends up being vastly different than what she imagined. She is highly empathetic and extremely naive. Despite obtaining some background about her childhood and decisions she is forced to make, she is still fairly two dimensional. However, it allows the plight of the women as victims to take center stage and give more fuel to those voices as she enacts justice on their behalf.

Unrelenting, heart wrenching and absolutely fierce, Phaedra takes a stance against the patriarchy and forces us examine past and present wounds inflicted by men simply because they think they can.

3 ⭐️

I think my mistake was having read Ariadne by Jennifer Saint recently, and they tell the same stories. This is my fault though, and not a reflection of this book.

However I don’t feel like I learned anything new or gained any more insight to these characters.

I still love Greek mythology and I’m so here for the women of these tales getting their story told.

However, there were many POVs in this story and all the voices felt the same, no one really sounded different and I had to keep flipping back to the beginning of the chapter to see who was talking.

Unfortunately, this book was not for me, though I can see how it would work for others. I could not get into it. There were too many POVs.

I really wanted to love this but it just fell flat for me.

In every aspect of a book, especially a retelling, it didn't do any exploring or scene setting to which I felt as though I couldn't escape and be fully entranced into the story. To add to this, the writing was just not that great. It was very difficult for me to want to continue reading this book, let alone finish it. It lacked a depth that this story would have surely thrived with.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and having read a lot of classical retelling this is amongst the best.

Phaedra is the story of the youngest daughter of King Minos of Crete. This book is a wonderful adaptation of her story and one not often told. Easy to read, and set up in the form of an Ancient Greek play. Told from multiple perspectives in the form of monologues during the trial of Theseus. For anyone interested in anything to do with Ancient Greek Mythology and Lore - this is a must read.

If you're looking for an easy read set in ancient Greece, this is a fun choice. It's a lovely debut novel with an interesting female main character. It's not as gripping as Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes, but it does scratch the "myth-inspired" itch.

I would like to thank Netgalley and Alcove Press for a free copy of the book in exchange for an honest review.

Not enjoyable, and far too many pov’s that weren’t connected to the story.