Haynes is master of her trade . . . She succeeds in breathing warm life into some of our oldest
stories.??Telegraph (UK) The national bestselling author of A Thousand Ships and Pandora's Jar
returns with a fresh and stunningly perceptive take on the story of Medusa the original
monstered woman. They will fear you and flee you and call you a monster. The only mortal in a
family of gods Medusa is the youngest of the Gorgon sisters. Unlike her siblings Medusa grows
older experiences change feels weakness. Her mortal lifespan gives her an urgency that her
family will never know. When the sea god Poseidon assaults Medusa in Athene's temple the
goddess is enraged. Furious by the violation of her sacred space Athene takes revenge?on the
young woman. Punished for Poseidon's actions Medusa is forever transformed. Writhing snakes
replace her hair and her gaze will turn any living creature to stone. Cursed with the power to
destroy all she loves with one look Medusa condemns herself to a life of solitude. Until
Perseus embarks upon a fateful quest to fetch the head of a Gorgon . . . In Stone Blind
classicist and comedian Natalie Haynes turns our understanding of this legendary myth on its
head bringing empathy and nuance to one of the earliest stories in which a woman?injured by a
powerful man?is blamed punished and monstered for the assault. Delving into the origins of
this mythic tale Haynes revitalizes and reconstructs Medusa's story with her passion and
fierce wit offering a timely retelling of this classic myth that speaks to us today.
