The Shadow of Perseus
A compelling feminist retelling of the myth of Perseus told from the perspectives of the women who knew him best
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3.0 • 1 Rating
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- $12.99
Publisher Description
'A page-turning retelling . . . so interesting and thought-provoking' JENNIFER SAINT
'A fresh and original take on the myth of Perseus . . . I was gripped by the human drama at the novel's heart' ELODIE HARPER
Myth remembers Perseus as one of its greatest heroes. A slayer of monsters. A rescuer of damsels.
But the women who knew him best have a different story to tell.
His mother, Danae.
His trophy, Medusa.
His wife, Andromeda.
As Perseus becomes obsessed with the promise of his own destiny, his heroic journey casts a shadow of violence and destruction across all three women's lives.
It takes strength to survive a legend.
Perfect for fans of Jennifer Saint, Elodie Harper and Natalie Haynes, author of Daughters of Sparta Claire Heywood returns with an imaginative reinterpretation of the myth of the great hero Perseus, bringing to life the voices of three women who are side-lined in the traditional version, and whose stories reveal a man who might not, in fact, be a hero at all.
Readers LOVE The Shadow of Perseus:
'I absolutely adored this book, I devoured it.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'The book is a real page turner.' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'This was such a compelling and wonderful read! I genuinely loved every minute of this book and cannot recommend it highly enough!' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A beautifully written, unique, approach to the myth of Perseus. Just gripping' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'A masterful voice in the popular new wave of feminist reworkings of Greek mythology . . . A must-read for fans of Madeline Miller and Natalie Haynes' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
'As someone who loves Greek Mythology retelling, I absolutely loved reading this book' ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Heywood (Daughters of Sparta) adds to the wave of feminist retellings of the classics with a vivid if unbalanced account of the Perseus myth. Danae is banished from Argos by her father, King Akrisios, after she becomes pregnant, thanks to a prophecy that a grandson would cause Akrisios's death. She washes ashore in Seriphos and spends the next 18 years telling her son, Perseus, that he's the son of Zeus (in fact, his father was a baker who broke into Akrisios's palace where Danae was cloistered). Medusa, a thoughtful leader of a community of women who have fled male violence, saves Perseus from a snake bite, but rejects his marriage offer, spurring Perseus to kill her instead. Meanwhile, beautiful Andromeda offers herself up as a sacrifice to appease the gods after a jilted suitor's father blames her for a crop-destroying storm. When Perseus finds her chained to a rock, he frees her, kills her fiancé, and rapes her. With Andromeda imprisoned on his ship, he returns to Seriphos, where developments push him to even more drastic, impulsive behavior. Though the motivations behind Perseus's volatile behavior aren't really explained, Heywood ably imagines how the clever, strong female characters build their lives alongside vindictive and destructive men. This is enjoyable, but it doesn't break new ground.
