A Beautiful Evil

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What to expect

Brought to you by Penguin.

The eagerly anticipated new YA Greek myth re-imagining from Bea Fitzgerald, TikTok superstar and Sunday Times bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen.

Pandora is the first human woman – made by the gods on Olympus for one simple purpose: to love and be loved by her new husband, the titan Epimatheos.

The only problem? He wants nothing to do with her.

Hurt and confused, Pandora struggles to find meaning in her new life. What's the point of being given all these gifts by the gods, if she can't get this infuriating, awful, frankly very rude man (with an admittedly quite nice face) to love her? Maybe she's failing at her life’s purpose. Or maybe she's destined for an entirely different one . . . ?

As Pandora and Matheos work to uncover why she was created, that fated connection between them feels increasingly difficult to ignore. And with that comes terrible risk. Because Matheos’s traitorous brother, Prometheus, is a seer – and before the gods captured him he issued a final warning: that Pandora and Matheos’s love will be humanity’s doom.

So . . . what do you do when faced with an all-powerful love . . . that just happens to threaten the end of the world?

Pandora’s about to find out.

A glorious sunshine/grumpy romantic re-imagining of the Pandora myth, from the bestselling author of Girl, Goddess, Queen and The End Crowns All

© Bea Fitzgerald 2025 (P) Penguin Audio 2025

Critics Review

No one does Greek myths quite like Bea Fitzgerald, whose teenage heroines unapologetically take centre stage, outplaying the gods at every turn . In A Beautiful Evil, the Olympians conjure up Pandora, the first human woman who, in contrast to classic retellings, is here smart, complex and neurodivergent, made for a husband who seems not to want her. Facing her are the challenges of navigating an unlikely romance and finding her life's purpose – as well as that tricky business of opening a jar to release all the evils of the world upon humanity. A deliciously addictive romp.
The Observer
Nobody is reinventing Greek mythology like Bea Fitzgerald – full of laughter, romance and drama, her books deliver brilliant ancient tales for a modern audience, and all set in the most beautifully realized magical world. I would read ANYTHING she writes.
Elodie Harper, bestselling author of The Wolf Den
Heartfelt, hilarious and inherently hopeful, A Beautiful Evil is a stunning reimagining – and reclamation – of the myth of Pandora. I fell in love with this story – the irresistible grumpy-sunshine romance, the piercing social commentary, and the lyrical, poetic prose. It is a powerful reminder that strength lies in our differences, and that hope is eternal. A joy from start to finish. Bea Fitzgerald has done it again!
Lauryn Hamilton Murray, author of Heir of Storms
Bea brings her wry, witty and utterly fresh perspective to the myth of Pandora, fleshing a much-maligned figure into a woman brimming with heart, joy and intellectual inquisitiveness. She cleverly turns a misogynistic story on its head, inviting the reader to consider Pandora's curiosity as a strength rather than a flaw - and encouraging us to question everything we've been told before in the process. Bea finds a brilliant and startling way to tie up the loose ends of myth and gives us a beautiful love story as well as the tale of a woman finding out who she is and what she wants. An empowering and thoroughly entertaining novel.
Jennifer Saint, bestselling author of Ariadne
Bea keeps getting better and better with every reimagining that she writes. I didn't think I could love any story more than The End Crowns All, but here I am, obsessed with her spin on the infamous story of Pandora's jar. Brimming with Bea's wit and populated with unforgettable characters, A Beautiful Evil is a brilliant, bright and hopeful examination of female desire and agency. I devoured this book.
Costanza Casati, bestselling author of Babylonia
Bea Fitzgerald has outdone herself with this masterful retelling of the myth of Pandora. Alongside the delightful grumpy-meets-sunshine romance and the thrilling plot of defiance is a reclamation of female agency, curiosity and hope - the very essence of being human. I absolutely loved it!
Kika Hatzopoulou, bestselling author of Threads That Bind
An enthralling and creative reimagining of the Pandora myth, infused with simmering romantic tension and a bright spark of hope. A Beautiful Evil absorbed me in Pandora's world from the first page until the final heart-rending moments.
H.F. Askwith, author of A Dark Inheritance

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