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Sweetbitter Song
  • Published: 24 March 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787637320
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 496
  • RRP: $38.00
Categories:

Sweetbitter Song

Formats & editions
Tr. Paperback
24 Mar 2026
EBook
19 Mar 2026
Audiobook
19 Mar 2026
Hardback
19 Apr 2026
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A profoundly moving sapphic tale of love, identity and defiance that retells the love story of Penelope, one of Ancient Greece's most famous heroines.

One fateful night in Sparta, a young slave girl encounters a mysterious, grey-eyed princess. Melantho and Penelope, though from different worlds, are instantly connected. But betrayal soon tears them apart.

Years later, on Ithaca's rocky shores, Melantho is sent to serve Princess Penelope and her new husband, Prince Odysseus. Hardened by slavery, Melantho vows to stay distant from Penelope. Yet, the undeniable pull between them proves stronger than ever.

As war ignites Greece, Odysseus and Ithaca's men are called away and, in their absence, Melantho finds a new world opening up before her – one where women rule, where family can be found, and where love is finally given the space to bloom.

But all wars eventually end and as Troy falls, Penelope and Melantho must face the King’s return and decide how far they will go to protect what matters most to them.
  • Published: 24 March 2026
  • ISBN: 9781787637320
  • Imprint: Bantam
  • Format: Trade Paperback
  • Pages: 496
  • RRP: $38.00
Categories:

About the author

Rosie Hewlett

Having secured a first-class honours degree in Classical Literature and Civilisation at the University of Birmingham, Rosie Hewlett has studied Greek mythology in depth and is passionate about unearthing strong female voices within the classical world. Rosie currently lives in Kent with her husband and is now a full-time author spending her days lost inside her favourite stories from mythology.

Rosie's first traditionally published novel, Medea, was an instant Sunday Times bestseller. Her self-published debut novel, Medusa, won the Rubery Book of the Year award in 2021.

RH

Also by Rosie Hewlett

Medusa
Medea
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Praise for Sweetbitter Song

A fierce and dazzling protagonist rises from the shadows of mythology to command her own story - one that is original and beautifully crafted. This is Rosie Hewlett's masterpiece.

Jennifer Saint

An extraordinary book. I fell completely in love with Melantho and Penelope, whose intelligence, ferocity and humanity shine through all their joys and suffering. This is a truly original take on The Odyssey as dazzling as Madeline Miller's reimagining of the Iliad in Song of Achilles'

Elodie Harper

A stunning tale of defiance, integrity and enduring love. Crafted with complexity and woven with reverent yearning

Kika Hatzopoulou, Sunday Times bestselling author of Threads That Bind

Utterly heartbreaking and achingly beautiful. What The Song of Achilles did for The Iliad, Sweetbitter Song does for The Odyssey, which is give us a love story that transcends time, myth and place. A masterclass in mythic retelling.

Kim Curran

Equal parts visceral and haunting [...] A thrilling, gut-wrenching tale of grief, love, womanhood and bravery. Outstanding.

Hazel McBride, Sunday Times bestselling author of A Fate Forged in Fire

Sweetbitter Song [...] will tear you to pieces and mend you again. Hewlett remakes the Odyssey, re-weaving the threads of the narrative with women you will not forget, in a tale of beauty and brutality. This is a gorgeous, scintillating re-imagining that shimmers.

Emily Hauser, award winning author of Mythica