Alcestis by Katharine Beutner

For fans of The Song of Achilles, a queer and fiercely feminist retelling of a little-known Greek myth: the ultimate story of sacrifice and forbidden desire—now in a deluxe reissue.

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 afterlife is just a river away, as Alcestis goes on a heroine’s journey from sheltered princess to self-actualized savior—redefining love and discovering her own power. Giving an achingly beautiful voice to the most misunderstood wives of Greek mythology, Alcestis is the Underworld as you’ve never seen it before.

This deluxe edition features discussion questions, a craft essay, and a bonus short story.

Story Locale: Ancient Greece; the Underworld

Katharine Beutner is an associate professor of English at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee; previously, she taught in Ohio and Hawai`i. Her second novel, Killingly, is now available from Soho Crime. Her writing has also appeared in Tinfish, Los Angeles Review of Books, Public Books, The Toast, TriQuarterly, Humanities, and other publications. Recently, she received an Ohio Arts Council Individual Excellence Award. She is the editor in chief of The Dodge, a magazine of eco-writing and translation.

Author Residence: Cleveland Heights, OH

Author Hometown: Lancaster, PA