I would like to see my retellings of classic literature used in schools, so I give permission to the country of Finland (and all other countries) to buy one eBook and give copies to all students forever. I also give permission to the state of Texas (and all other states) to buy one eBook and give copies to all students forever. I also give permission to all teachers to buy one eBook and give copies to all students forever.
Teachers need not actually teach my retellings. Teachers are welcome to give students copies of my ebooks as background material. For example, if they are teaching Homer’s “Iliad” and “Odyssey,” teachers are welcome to give students copies of my “Virgil’s ‘Aeneid’: A Retelling in Prose” and tell students, “Here’s another ancient epic you may want to read in your spare time.”
The ten-year Trojan War is over, and the Greeks have won. Odysseus, King of Ithaca, has been trying to return home while traveling and having adventures for an additional ten years, but the goddess Calypso is holding him captive on an island. Because of a visit to the Land of the Dead, Odysseus knows that when he returns to Ithaca, he will find his palace full of dangerous young men who party all the time, wasting his property. These young men want to marry his wife, disrespect his aged father, kill his son, and take over his palace. They would be happy to kill Odysseus as well. Odysseus must find a way to return home, help his immature son grow up, save his wife, return his father to respectability, and kill over 100 dangerous young men. If he fails, his family will suffer and he will either die or be a beggar for the rest of his life. The Odyssey is an epic adventure tale of maturity versus selfishness and good versus evil.
This is a retelling of Homer's "Odyssey" in novel form.
