16 h 58 minAudiobook13 minSummaryRead it, hear it, the 15-minute summary, and print and large print at cost
Audiobook edition · 16 h 58 minPaperback · 6 × 9 in · printing soonHardcover · 6 × 9 in · printing soonAbout this book
What does it take to lead others wisely when you are still searching for your father?
In The Adventures of Telemachus, the search for a father meets the question of how to live well. François Fénelon brings adventure and myth together in an epic where wisdom, virtue, and leadership matter as much as the search itself.
Telemachus gives this exploration of just rule a personal center: a son seeking his father. Alongside that search, Fénelon asks readers to consider what makes a worthy leader. The book invites you to think about the link between living with virtue and governing with wisdom.
What you’ll discover
- A son's search Follow Telemachus on a quest for his father that gives the epic its human heart.
- Wisdom and adventure Explore a classic that brings the search for wisdom into the world of myth.
- The meaning of leadership Consider what it means to lead well, with virtue as a guide.
- Questions of just rule Reflect on the connection between a leader's wisdom and the demands of just government.
- Virtue in focus Look beyond the quest itself to the book's questions about how to live.
Who will love it
This book is for readers who love the Odyssey and want to follow its hero's son, and for anyone drawn to leadership, honest advice and ancient myth.
What’s inside
The key ideas, in the 15-minute summary
- A shipwreck brings a prince to Calypso
- Pride in Sicily and slavery in Egypt
- A shepherd's patience and a tyrant's tower
- Tyre, the invisible king and a dangerous lie
- Venus tempts him and Crete teaches him
- Love enters Calypso's island
- Salente, a new city and a war averted
- Mentor remakes Salente and exposes a flatterer
- War among the allies and the test of honor
- What the book says about kings, flattery and peace
- How Fénelon tells the story
Who’s who
- TelemachusThe young son of Ulysses, proud and brave, who searches the seas for his lost father and learns to master himself.
- MentorTelemachus's stern and wise guide, who warns him against flattery and pleasure and teaches him how to govern.
- CalypsoA grieving goddess who falls in love with Telemachus and tries to keep him on her island forever.
- IdomeneusA Cretan king driven from his land who founds the new city of Salente and must learn to rule wisely.
- NarbalAn honest Tyrian captain who protects Telemachus and warns him about the cruel king Pygmalion.
- PhiloclesA truthful adviser wronged by a flatterer, who lives simply in exile and cares more for virtue than power.
- AdrastusThe ruthless king of the Daunians, who breaks oaths and wants slaves instead of subjects.
- AntiopeIdomeneus's modest, capable daughter, whom Telemachus comes to love.
Formats and delivery
- eBook
- On your phone, tablet or computer, once the book texts are online.
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- The same book in bigger, clearer type, once the book texts are online.
- Audiobook
- Read by Lucas Linden, complete. It opens once the recording is online.
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas in about 13 minutes, to read today.
- Paperback
- 6 × 9 in. Printing soon: leave your email under Paperback or Hardcover above.
- Hardcover
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- Large print paperback
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- Large print hardcover
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The Adventures of Telemachus
by François Fénelon · 1699
Shipwrecked on a goddess's island, a prince hunts for his father while a stern old friend guards his heart.
Medium level10–20 hours to readEnglish
Excellent
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In short
What happens when a goddess falls in love with a shipwrecked boy, and the only thing between him and an easy, endless life is an old man who seems to know too much? That is how The Adventures of Telemachus begins.
The Adventures of Telemachus at a glance
- Reading time
- About 9 h 30 min7 h 35 min fast, 11 h 20 min slow
- Length
- 135,900 words
- Library level
- Medium longer sentences, everyday words
- First published
- 1699by François Fénelon
Reading time at 238 words a minute (fast 300, slow 200). How long the classics take to read · Updated
From the 15-minute summary · Key idea 1
A shipwreck brings a prince to Calypso
The story opens on a beach covered with the wreck of a ship. Calypso, a goddess who cannot stop mourning Ulysses, sees two men in the distance. One is old. The other is young and looks so much like Ulysses that her heart leaps.
Telemachus tells her he is searching the seas for his father, who vanished after the fall of Troy. Moved by his wisdom and grace, she takes the two strangers into her home. Her cave has fountains, vines, flowering meadows and singing nymphs, and Telemachus is dazzled.
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Which edition is right for me
- 15-minute summary
- The key ideas of the whole book in about 13 minutes. A good first look, or a refresher.
Details
- First published
- 1699
- Language
- English
- Level
- Medium level
Cite this edition
Fénelon, François. The Adventures of Telemachus. Library of Alexandria, 2026, libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-telemachus.
Fénelon, F. (2026). The adventures of Telemachus. Library of Alexandria. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-telemachus (Original work published 1699)
Fénelon, François. The Adventures of Telemachus. Library of Alexandria, 2026. https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-telemachus.
@book{fenelon2026adventures,
author = {Fénelon, François},
title = {The Adventures of Telemachus},
publisher = {Library of Alexandria},
year = {2026},
url = {https://libraryofalexandria.com/products/the-adventures-of-telemachus},
note = {First published 1699}
}
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What is The Adventures of Telemachus about?
It follows Telemachus, son of Ulysses, as he searches the Mediterranean for his lost father. Guided by Mentor, he visits Egypt, Tyre, Crete and Italy and sees what makes kingdoms prosper or fall.
Who is Mentor in Telemachus?
Mentor is the old friend of Ulysses who guides Telemachus. He gives advice, warns against flattery and pleasure, and wins peace by his words. The book shows that he is more than a man.
Why did Fénelon write Telemachus?
He wrote it while tutoring the Duke of Burgundy, grandson of Louis XIV, to teach a future king how to rule. It was never meant for print, but a copy was sold in 1700.
The author
François Fénelon
1651–1715 · French archbishop, theologian and writer
François de Salignac de La Mothe-Fénelon (1651–1715) was a French theologian and writer. Born at the Château de Fénelon in southwestern France, he became archbishop of Cambrai in 1695 and died there. His works include On the Education of Girls (1687) and The Adventures of Telemachus (1699).
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