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Medusa grows up among gods, but she cannot live forever. She is the youngest Gorgon sister. She alone grows old and feels weak. Her short life gives her a sense of haste. Her family cannot know that feeling.

Poseidon assaults her in a temple that belongs to Athena. This act defiles the shrine and makes Athena angry. She punishes Medusa for it. Snakes take the place of Medusa’s hair. Her gaze turns others to stone. She leaves the world to keep those she loves safe. Then Perseus gets a task: bring back a Gorgon’s head.

Natalie Haynes retells this Greek myth for fans of fiction based on myths. Her novel tells Medusa’s tale with love, grief, humour and daring deeds. It asks how myths show what people believe as a group. It also asks how those who tell myths change them.

Haynes is a British writer who has won awards for her comedy. She also works in the press and in broadcasting. She has served on the Man Booker and Orange prize juries. She writes fiction and nonfiction on women in Greek myth. She also makes radio shows about the classics. This novel reached the Women’s Prize for Fiction finals in 2023.

This edition forms part of the Anansi Contemporan collection. Ioana Filat made this translation from the English original, Stone Blind.