Why am I passionate about this?

My interest in the heroes and myths of the Trojan War came from a dream. My father was a wounded Greek youth and I carried him down into the Underworld. As I explored that dream and my relationship to my father, the world of Greek mythology opened to me. I absorbed The Iliad and The Odyssey, read the fragments and summaries of the other six poems that in antiquity had been part of the Epic or Trojan Cycle, immersed myself in Greek myths and gods, wondered if Homer wrote both surviving epics (I don’t think he did), and found within myself the voice of Telemachus ready to narrate On Wine-Dark Seas.


I wrote

On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and His Fatherless Son Telemachus

By Tad Crawford,

Book cover of On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and His Fatherless Son Telemachus

What is my book about?

Countless readers have thrilled to the adventures of Odysseus in The Iliad and The Odyssey, but what further adventures awaited…

Shepherd is reader supported. When you buy books, we may earn an affiliate commission.

The books I picked & why

Book cover of The Penelopiad

Tad Crawford Why did I love this book?

This is a must-read for lovers of The Odyssey. From the viewpoint of the loyal wife, Penelope, we see her early life, her marriage to Odysseus, her life in Ithaca, the trick played by Palamedes to force Odysseus to go to war, and her painful separation from her husband that lasts not a year or two but twenty years. Deceased when she narrates her story, in the Underworld she confronts the worst of the suitors and also Helen. And she shows her compassion for the twelve maidservants hung for taking suitors as lovers. She really believes Odysseus wants to be with her, but he’s incapable of settling down (on Ithaka or in the Underworld where he elects numerous times to be reborn). It’s fun to read about familiar characters deepened and transformed by Atwood’s sharp eye.

By Margaret Atwood,

Why should I read it?

5 authors picked The Penelopiad as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Penelope. Immortalised in legend and myth as the devoted wife of the glorious Odysseus, silently weaving and unpicking and weaving again as she waits for her husband's return.

Now Penelope wanders the underworld, spinning a different kind of thread: her own side of the story - a tale of lust, greed and murder.

The Myths series brings together some of the world's finest writers, each of whom has retold a myth in a contemporary and memorable way. Authors in the series include Karen Armstrong, Margaret Atwood, A.S. Byatt, David Grossman, Natsuo Kirino, Alexander McCall Smith, Philip Pullman, Ali Smith and…


Book cover of A Thousand Ships

Tad Crawford Why did I love this book?

Here are the voices of the women caught in the endless war at Troy. So many women would be separated from husbands and sons; others mourn for lost loved ones. Some would be sacrificed, such as Iphigenia and Polyxena, many more (such as Hector’s wife Andromache) would be taken to new lives of slavery in foreign lands, and some (like Priam’s wife Hecabe) would prefer death to enslavement. To listen to these women is to know the violent ruin of war. The voice of Penelope, a survivor but nonetheless wounded, is especially poignant as she recounts her feelings about exploits attributed to Odysseus (including his trysts with Circe and Calypso). And Neoptolemus explaining to Andromache (his slave who shares his bed) how his sacrificial killing of Polyxena haunts him is one of many telling moments in the novel. 

By Natalie Haynes,

Why should I read it?

8 authors picked A Thousand Ships as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Shortlisted for the Women's Prize for Fiction

In A Thousand Ships, broadcaster and classicist Natalie Haynes retells the story of the Trojan War from an all-female perspective, for fans of Madeline Miller and Pat Barker.

This was never the story of one woman, or two. It was the story of them all . . .

In the middle of the night, a woman wakes to find her beloved city engulfed in flames. Ten seemingly endless years of conflict between the Greeks and the Trojans are over. Troy has fallen.

From the Trojan women whose fates now lie in the hands…


Book cover of Argos: The Story of Odysseus as Told by His Loyal Dog

Tad Crawford Why did I love this book?

I loved this book. It tells Odysseus’ story from the viewpoint of his loyal dog Argos. Intended for readers aged 8-12, it can awaken the child in all of us. We knew from The Odyssey how loyal a dog Argos was. But hearing in Argos’s own words how he protected Penelope, Telemachus, and the hall of Odysseus in his master’s absence makes absolutely clear that Argos is formidable indeed. In fact, he shares many of his master’s characteristics. He can plan, trick his opponents, and use his wits to overcome any challenge in service to Odysseus. He learns of Odysseus’ movements by speaking to birds who have come from the islands where Odysseus is struggling to return home from Troy. Although Argos dies of old age when he finally sees Odysseus, he has had a son who, loyal like his father, stands beside Odysseus and Telemachus and witnesses their slaughter of the suitors. A great read.

By Ralph Hardy,

Why should I read it?

2 authors picked Argos as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 9, 10, 11, and 12.

What is this book about?

Fans of Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series will love this reimagining of Homer’s The Odyssey told from the point of view of Odysseus’s loyal dog, Argos.

Now available in paperback, this rousing story of devotion and determination is an original take on one of the most beloved myths of all time.

For twenty years, the great hero Odysseus struggles to return to home on Ithaka. He defeats monsters. He outsmarts the Cyclops. He battles the gods. He does whatever it takes to reunite with his family.

And what of that family—his devoted wife, Penelope; his young son, Telemachos; his dog,…


Book cover of The Song of Achilles

Tad Crawford Why did I love this book?

This is a great book if you love the larger mythology of the Trojan War (from which The Iliad and The Odyssey were created). Here we find the reason Patroclus came to the court of Achilles’ father, how Patroclus and Achilles came to be companions and lovers, how Achilles chose to go to war and face the death he knew was his fate if he sought fame. There are two schools of thought as to whether Achilles and Patroclus were, in fact, lovers (The Iliad could support either view). But there can be no doubt of the great passion animating their relationship, a passion captured in this lovely “Song.”

By Madeline Miller,

Why should I read it?

30 authors picked The Song of Achilles as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

**OVER 1.5 MILLION COPIES SOLD**
**A 10th ANNIVERSARY SPECIAL EDITION, FEATURING A NEW FOREWORD BY THE AUTHOR**

WINNER OF THE ORANGE WOMEN'S PRIZE FOR FICTION
THE INTERNATIONAL SENSATION
A SUNDAY TIMES AND NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER

'Captivating' DONNA TARTT
'I loved it' J K ROWLING
'Ravishingly vivid' EMMA DONOGHUE

Greece in the age of heroes. Patroclus, an awkward young prince, has been exiled to the court of King Peleus and his perfect son Achilles. Despite their differences, Achilles befriends the shamed prince, and as they grow into young men skilled in the arts of war and medicine, their bond blossoms…


Book cover of An Odyssey: A Father, A Son, and an Epic

Tad Crawford Why did I love this book?

The author, a professor of classics at Bard College, invites his father to attend his class on The Odyssey. What unfolds is a marvelous father-son story as his opinionated father vigorously participates and the author limns his complicated relationship to this endearing and perplexing man. All this is set against insightful discussions of The Odyssey and the father-son relationship of Odysseus and Telemachus. A surprising and very pleasurable read.

By Daniel Mendelsohn,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked An Odyssey as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A New York Times/PBS NewsHour Book Club Pick

From award-winning memoirist and critic, and bestselling author of The Lost: a deeply moving tale of a father and son's transformative journey in reading--and reliving--Homer's epic masterpiece.

When eighty-one-year-old Jay Mendelsohn decides to enroll in the undergraduate Odyssey seminar his son teaches at Bard College, the two find themselves on an adventure as profoundly emotional as it is intellectual. For Jay, a retired research scientist who sees the world through a mathematician's unforgiving eyes, this return to the classroom is his "one last chance" to learn the great literature he'd neglected in…


Explore my book 😀

On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and His Fatherless Son Telemachus

By Tad Crawford,

Book cover of On Wine-Dark Seas: A Novel of Odysseus and His Fatherless Son Telemachus

What is my book about?

Countless readers have thrilled to the adventures of Odysseus in The Iliad and The Odyssey, but what further adventures awaited him after his twenty years of war and wandering? Narrated by Telemachus to the bard Phemios, On Wine-Dark Seas speaks of the human drama of a man long separated from home and family, a man who saw Troy on the night of its destruction, a man who lives the special quest which is his destiny. Probing the inner journeys of a son and father who must come to terms with each other and their ruthless slaughter of the suitors of Penelope, it reveals the doubts and joys of Odysseus, Penelope, and Telemachus.

“A towering triumph of poetic imagination.” —Christopher Vogler, author of The Writer’s Journey

You might also like...

Tasha and the Biologist

By Amy Q. Barker,

Book cover of Tasha and the Biologist

Amy Q. Barker Author Of Bailey and the CEO: A Corporate Love Story

New book alert!

Why am I passionate about this?

Author Avid reader Nature lover Park ranger wanna be Best Nana ever

Amy's 3 favorite reads in 2024

What is my book about?

Tasha and the Biologist is the second book in the "A Better Man" series. It's a contemporary romance about second chances, two lonely birders, and the healing power of love.

Tasha Moore is a visiting nurse with a family secret. She just went through a bad breakup. Caleb Drexel is a bird biologist trying to start a new life in a small town. He just got out of an unhappy marriage.

What happens when hope and romance bloom between these two nature lovers?

Tasha and the Biologist

By Amy Q. Barker,

What is this book about?

Tasha
He was handsome, confident, nice, smart—a good guy.
How did he end up here in the middle of Indiana?
And how did he know so much about whooping cranes?
I’d never met someone as passionate about birds as I was.
Was it too soon for me to be thinking about love again?
Caleb
She was sweet, kind, caring—a nurse and a birder.
I really liked her. Maybe more than liked.
And I’d only spent two hours—three, tops—with her.
Yet, I’d promised myself I wouldn’t get involved with anyone for at least a year after my divorce.


5 book lists we think you will like!

Interested in the Trojan War, Odysseus, and the Odyssey?

The Trojan War 40 books
Odysseus 30 books
The Odyssey 39 books