Return To Ithaca

At 21, Barbara Newborn saw a happy future ahead, but her carefree life fell apart when she suffered a severe stroke which left her paralyzed and unable to communicate. Supported by all who knew her, Barbara embarked on a profound journey of rehabilitation and self-discovery. This is the story of how she learned to live again, from her first difficult steps to her triumphant turning point. Today Barbara Newborn is Chief of Staff at the National Stroke & Quality of Life Medical Education Institute.144 pp.

The epic story of Odysseus’s journey home, the historical fantasy series finale by an author who has been called “a demi-god of the genre” (The Catholic Herald). Odysseus has been to Hell and back. Deserted by the Gods, and now in bitter conflict with his friend Eperitus, times look bleak. He dreams of returning to his home; to Ithaca. But back on Ithaca things look little better. His son Telemachus and wife Penelope are besieged by a gang of suitors, believing Odysseus to be dead and looking for her hand in marriage. Odysseus and Eperitus have survived everything. But now they face a last test, perhaps the most difficult of all . . . Can they reclaim what has been lost? For readers of David Gemmell, Christian Cameron and Simon Scarrow, Return to Ithaca is the stunning conclusion to the Adventures of Odysseus series.

After war and strife, a mighty king's troubles are only just beginning . . . After ten years at war and ten years wandering the world, Odysseus has finally returned home. But he cannot reveal his identity to his faithful wife Penelope. A gang of would-be lovers are pestering her to marry one of them - and are prepared to kill anyone who claims to be her husband. Now Odysseus must use all his cunning and ingenuity to get rid of them, if he is to reclaim his wife and his rightful place as King of Ithaca once and for all.

The Odyssey is one of the oldest works of Western literature, dating back to classical antiquity. Homer’s epic poem belongs in a collection called the Epic Cycle, which includes the Iliad. It was originally written in ancient Greek, utilizing a dactylic hexameter rhyme scheme. Although this rhyme scheme sounds beautiful in its native language, in modern English it can sound awkward and, as Eric McMillan humorously describes it, resembles “pumpkins rolling on a barn floor.” William Cullen Bryant avoided this problem by composing his translation in blank verse, a rhyme scheme that sounds natural in English. This epic poem follows Ulysses, one of the Greek leaders that brought an end to the ten-year-long Trojan war. Longing for home, he travels across the Mediterranean Sea to return to his kingdom in Ithaca; unfortunately, our hero manages to anger Neptune, the god of the sea, making his trip home agonizingly slow and extremely dangerous. While Ulysses is trying to return home, his family in Ithaca is also in danger. Suitors have traveled to the home of Ulysses to marry his wife, Penelope, believing that her husband did not survive the war. These men are willing to kill anyone who stands in their way. This book is part of the Standard Ebooks project, which produces free public domain ebooks.

Historical fantasy full of “suspense, treachery, and bone-crunching action . . . will leave fans of the genre eagerly awaiting the rest of the series” (The Times Literary Supplement). It was a time of myth and mystery. A time when Gods walked among men. It was a time of heroes. Greece is a country in turmoil, divided by feuding kingdoms desiring wealth, power and revenge. When Eperitus, a young exiled soldier, comes to the aid of a group of warriors in battle, little does he know that it will be the start of an incredible adventure. For he is about to join the charismatic Odysseus, Prince of Ithaca, on a vital quest to save his homeland. Odysseus travels to Sparta to join the most famous heroes of the time in paying suit to the sensuous Helen. Armed with nothing but his wits and intelligence, he must enter a treacherous world of warfare and politics to compete for the greatest prize in Greece. But few care for the problems of an impoverished prince when war with Troy is beckoning. An epic saga set in one of the most dramatic periods of history, King of Ithaca is a voyage of discovery of one man’s journey to become a King—and a legend. “A must read for those who enjoy good old epic battles, chilling death scenes and the extravagance of ancient Greece.” —Lifestyle Magazine “The reader does not need to be classicist to enjoy this epic and stirring tale. It makes a great novel.” —Historical Novels Review

In the tumultuous aftermath of the Trojan War, a young man battles to save his home and his inheritance. Setting out to find his father, he ends up discovering himself. Telemachus’s father, Odysseus, went off to war before he was born...and never came back. Aged sixteen, Telemachus finds himself abandoned, his father’s house overrun with men pursuing his beautiful mother, Penelope, and devouring the family’s wealth. He determines to leave Ithaca, his island home, and find the truth. What really happened to his father? Was Odysseus killed on his journey home from the war? Or might he, one day, return to take his revenge? Telemachus's journey takes him across the landscape of bronze-age Greece in the aftermath of the great Trojan war. Veterans hide out in the hills. Chieftains, scarred by war, hoard their treasure in luxurious palaces. Ithaca re-tells Homer’s famous poem, The Odyssey, from the point of view of Odysseus’ resourceful and troubled son, describing Odysseus’s extraordinary voyage from Troy to the gates of hell, and Telemachus’s own journey from boyhood to the desperate struggle that wins back his home...and his father.

From the multi-award-winning author Claire North comes a daring reimagining that breathes life into ancient myth and gives voice to the women who stand defiant in a world ruled by ruthless men. It’s time for the women of Ithaca to tell their tale . . . "North brings a powerful, fresh, and unflinching voice to ancient myth. Breathtaking." —Jennifer Saint, author of Ariadne Seventeen years ago, King Odysseus sailed to war with Troy, taking with him every man of fighting age from the island of Ithaca. None of them has returned, and the women of Ithaca have been left behind to run the kingdom. Penelope was barely into womanhood when she wed Odysseus. While he lived, her position was secure. But now, years on, speculation is mounting that her husband is dead, and suitors are beginning to knock at her door. No one man is strong enough to claim Odysseus' empty throne—not yet. But as everyone waits for the balance of power to tip, Penelope knows that any choice she makes could plunge Ithaca into bloody civil war. This is the story of Penelope of Ithaca, famed wife of Odysseus, as it has never been told before. Beyond Ithaca's shores, the whims of gods dictate the wars of men. But on the isle, it is the choices of the abandoned women—and their goddesses—that will change the course of the world.

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