The first total synthesis of parthenolide (1) is described. The key feature of this synthesis is the formation of a 10-membered carbocylic ring by a macrocyclic stereocontrolled Barbier reaction, followed by a photoinduced Z/E isomerization. The biological evaluation of a small library of parthenolide analogues (19, 33, and 34) disclosed a preliminary structure–activity relationship (SAR). The results