Natalie Haynes

Natalie Haynes – the Women’s Prize-shortlisted author of A Thousand Ships – brings the infamous Medusa to life as you have never seen her before . . . '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 . . . This is the story of how a young woman became a monster. And how she was never really a monster at all. PRAISE FOR NATALIE HAYNES: ‘With her trademark passion, wit, and fierce feminism... her thoughtful portraits will linger with you long after the book is finished’ Madeline Miller ‘Haynes combines a wide-ranging knowledge of the original myths with a gift for compelling narrative’ The Times ‘Natalie Haynes is both a witty and an erudite guide. She wears her extensive learning lightly and deftly drags the Classics into the modern world’ Kate Atkinson ‘Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest stories’ Telegraph ‘Haynes is the nation’s greatest muse’ Adam Rutherford

Medusa's Story

Stone Blind

Jemima Scott

“Men call you monsters because they don't understand you”

sharkie

And as she teased her fingers through his damp, salty hair and agreed with his ever wish, she wondered if she should warn the Gorgons of the danger their sister was in.

"It doesn't matter what they think of me." "Then why do you want to protect them?"

"It's my eyes that hurt," said her sister. "I can't open them."

"And a terrible curse," said Sthenno. "Because she cannot look on any living creature without destroying it."

"Why would anyone love a monster?" asked Perseus.

"Who are you to decide who is worthy of love?" said Hermes.

But there is no battle to be had between an armed man and a sleeping girl. Don't forget.

If what you are saying is true, why didn't she open her eyes?

Holly 

I see you. I see all those who men call monsters. 

And I see the men who call them that. Call themselves heroes, of course.

 I only see them for an instant. Then they're gone. 

But it's enough. Enough to know that the hero isn't the one who's kind or brave or loyal. Sometimes - not always, but sometimes - he is monstrous.

Rina

Men will tell you that Gorgons are monsters, but men are fools. They cannot comprehend any beauty beyond what they can see. And what they see is a tiny part of what there is.

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