These Great Athenians

Valentine Carter’s fierce debut gives voice to the mostly forgotten and maligned female characters of Homer’s epic The Odyssey. It is a celebratory ode to those who survive within and outside of gender norms.

“Even through the darker themes of femicide and sexual violence, it never loses this waggish quality. This glittering wryness concentrates into a diamond-like grit when you consider the chilling prevalence of these same issues today."
⁠—Lucy Writers

"A very impressive debut novel in terms of the use of written word and the ease with which they make old stories fresh and new."
⁠—Utopia State of Mind

Faithful Penelope waits for her husband’s return as she weaves a shroud that foretells her doom, Scylla once a beautiful nymph turned monster prowls the seas hungry for flesh, while the witch Circe falls for a man who will leave her. Weaving together their stories and poetic voices, this subtly moving and playful verse novel questions how do those without a voice find freedom within the world of men?"What made the pages fly through my hands was how frankly funny the narrative voice is; even through the darker themes of femicide and sexual violence, it never loses this waggish quality. This glittering wryness concentrates into a diamond-like grit when you consider the chilling prevalence of these same issues today."
⁠—Lucy Writers


“Valentine Carter's new book of short stories takes inspiration from the women of The Odyssey, rescuing them from their isolation by imagining a world in which their stories intertwine.”
⁠—Unity Books


"A very impressive debut novel in terms of the use of written word and the ease with which they make old stories fresh and new."
⁠—Utopia State of Mind Valentine Carter grew up in a small village, escaped to the capital and now lives by the sea. They recently completed an MA in creative writing at Birkbeck, University of London, where they are now studying for a PhD. Valentine has short fiction published by The Fiction Pool, Bandit Fiction, In Yer Ear and The Mechanics’ Institute Review:Issue 15 and Issue 16, and poetry published by Perverse and Visual Verse.