Medea
A Novel
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- £11.99
Publisher Description
Discover the full story of the sorceress Medea, one of the most reviled and maligned women of Greek antiquity, in this “haunting, deeply moving” (Claire Legrand, New York Times bestselling author) debut in the tradition of Circe, Elektra, and Stone Blind.
Among the women of Greek mythology, the witch Medea may be the most despised. Known for the brutal act of killing her own children to exact vengeance on her deceitful husband, Jason, the leader of the Argonauts, Medea has carved out a singularly infamous niche in our histories.
But what if that isn’t the full story?
The daughter of a sea nymph and the granddaughter of a Titan, Medea is a paradox. She is at once rendered compelling by virtue of the divinity that flows through her bloodline and made powerless by the fact of her being a woman. As a child, she intuitively submerges herself in witchcraft and sorcery but soon finds her skills may not be a match for the prophecies that hang over her entire family like a shroud.
As Medea comes into her own as a woman and a witch, she also faces the arrival of the hero Jason, preordained by the gods to be not only her husband but also her lifeline to escape her isolated existence. Medea travels the treacherous seas with the Argonauts, battles demons she has never imagined, and falls in love with the man who may ultimately be her downfall in this fresh and propulsive “must-have” (Library Journal, starred review) read in which you will finally hear Medea’s side of the story through a fresh and feminist lens.
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
With this complex and involving debut, Quin adds to the growing field of Greek myth retellings from the perspectives of monstrous women, probing here into the life of the filicidal heroine of Euripides's play of the same name. Medea is the second born of an Oceanid and the half-human son of the Titan Helios. Her cruel father, believing himself to be heirless before the birth of Medea's brother, Prince Phaethon, teaches Medea Pharmakon, the mystical art of "unlocking the secret powers of plants and flowering things." After Phaethon's birth, Medea's mother returns to the sea, and Medea falls into a caretaker role for her younger brother. Her determination to protect Phaethon from a prophecy predicting his death leads her down a dark path into forbidden magic. Later, her relationship with the argonaut Jason takes her across the sea. As Medea's familiar story unfolds, Quin allows for a great degree of moral complexity, but consistent throughout is her devotion to those she loves—including her eventual ill-fated children. Madeline Miller fans should snap this up.
