Stone Blind by Natalie Haynes

‘So to mortal men, we are monsters. Because of our flight, our strength. They fear us, so they call us monsters.’

Medusa is the only mortal in a family of gods. Growing up with her sisters, she quickly realizes that she is the only one who gets older, experiences change, feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her family will never know.

When the sea god, Poseidon, commits an unforgivable act in her sacred temple the goddess, Athene, takes her revenge on an innocent – and Medusa’s life is changed forever. Appalled by her own reflection: snakes have replaced her hair and she realises that her gaze can now turn any living creature to stone. Medusa can no longer look upon anyone she loves without destroying them,, and so condemns herself to a life lived in shadow and solitude to limit her murderous rage.

That is, until Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . .

Natalie Haynes, Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships, brings life to the infamous myth of Medusa with a heartbreaking, feminist retelling unlike any other.

About the Author: Natalie Haynes is a writer and broadcaster. She is the author of The Amber Fury, which was shortlisted for the McIlvanney Prize; The Children of Jocasta, a feminist retelling of the Oedipus and Antigone stories; and two non-fiction books, The Ancient Guide to Modern Life and Pandora’s Jar. She has written and presented seven series of the BBC Radio 4 show, Natalie Haynes Stands Up for the Classics. In 2015, she was awarded the Classical Association Prize for her work in bringing Classics to a wider audience. Her third novel, A Thousand Ships, was shortlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction in 2020. Stone Blind is her fourth novel.

15 Sep 2022
 

Stone Blind: Longlisted for the Women’s Prize for Fiction 2023 by Natalie Haynes ISBN 9781529061499