The Palace of Eros

The Sunday Times bestselling seductive retelling of the classic myth from award-winning author Caro De Robertis

Theirs was a love that defied the gods…

Young, headstrong Psyche has captured the eye of every suitor with her beauty – but also, unfortunately, the jealous gaze of the goddess Aphrodite. As punishment, Psyche is tied to a rock to be sacrificed to a ‘monstrous husband’. And yet, no monster arrives: instead, she is spirited away by Aphrodite’s daughter Eros.

Eros, goddess of desire, can change gender at will. And in her hidden palace, she visits her bride under the cloak of darkness: Psyche is forbidden to gaze upon the face of her lover. But as they explore each other’s bodies and discover new pleasures, Psyche is tempted to break her vow… even if it brings down the wrath of the gods.

A gloriously anarchic and seductive retelling of the myth of Psyche and Eros, groundbreaking, gender-fluid and hugely enjoyable, this is a masterpiece from Caro De Robertis, a writer described by Madeline Miller as ‘brilliant and luminous’.

Review

'A brilliant and luminous writer’ Madeline Miller, author of THE SONG OF ACHILLES and CIRCE

'A natural storyteller' WASHINGTON POST

'De Robertis's writing harnesses… physicality and sexual energy'WALL STREET JOURNAL

'The Palace of Eros is a?riveting, sublime, magical, and wildly subversive meditation on love, sex, mythology, and belonging … brilliant and beautiful and erotic and insightful and unlike anything I've ever read. I couldn't ask for more' Cristina?García

'Effortlessly lyrical sentences' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'De Robertis deserves to share fans with the likes of Isabel Allende… masterly storytelling' LIBRARY JOURNAL

'Caro De Robertis casts a bright light with all their work…Their voice is what we need to bring us back to wholeness' Luis Alberto Urrea

'Caro De Robertis is the reason I read. It’s impossible not to fall in love with their characters, who are fierce, courageous and adventurous. Their powerful storytelling captivates the reader from start to finish' Angie Cruz

'Caro De Robertis is a force: prepare to be astonished' R.O. Kwon

'An engrossing queer retelling… Admirers of Madeline Miller will be pleased' PUBLISHERS WEEKLY

'This lyrical, evocative retelling is at once intimate and expansive in De Robertis’ masterful hands' Jen St. Jude, The Chicago Review of Books

'Magnificent… THE PALACE OF EROS builds on a long history of trans and queer people rewriting history to expand the notion of what’s possible… an incredible and beautiful ode to this history' Julián Delgado Lopera, Electric Literature

About the Author

Caro De Robertis, a Uruguayan-American writer born in the UK, is the author of five previous novels including CANTORAS and THE GODS OF TANGO. In 2022, they received the Dos Passos Prize, awarded annually to an American author who “experiments with form, explores a range of voices and deserves more recognition”. De Robertis is an associate professor at San Francisco State University, and lives in Oakland, California with their two children.